300-strong food firm faces uncertain future as administrators alerted

A struggling East Midlands vegetable grower which employs around 300 people is looking at an uncertain future after posting a notice of intention to appointment administrators.

A H Worth, which is based in Fosdyke, near Spalding, had made the move through law firm Browne Jacobson. It means the company will be protected from creditor action for a short period while it tries to find a way forward.

The news comes just weeks after A H Worth said it was undertaking a restructuring process involving redundancies and a restructuring of the business, which has been trading since 1895 producing potatoes, sweetcorn, leeks and salad crops.

The company said it was being forced into the restructure after it lost its largest potato contract. It has four factories across the south of Lincolnshire.

In it latest available accounts, made up to May 31 2023, A H Worth posted a loss of over £6.6m – up from a deficit of £1.9m in 2022. A statement signed off by directors showed that “extreme weather events” and inflation was impacting the company and that it was taking steps to recover costs through “efficiencies”.

Three outstanding charges over the company have been settled in the last two weeks, filings at Companies House show, along with a notice that its accounting period will be extended from the end of May to the end of June.

A H Worth has been contacted for comment.