Organic food firm leaves £7m of debt after collapse

An organic Devon food firm which supplied London’s Selfridges has left debts of nearly £7m following its collapse.

The Okehampton-based business experienced major financial difficulties and went into administration earlier this year. Eversfield Organic lost two significant business accounts with online grocery firm Ocado and food delivery business Abel and Cole in 2022 – contracts which generated £2.3m in sales that year, and their loss had “a material adverse effect on turnover”.

The company had losses of £536,000 in 2022 and £1.6m in 2023.

Administrators at Mazars this week published an update after confirming it was not feasible to rescue Eversfield Organic as a going concern.

Documents filed at Companies House revealed debts of nearly £7m and now the administrators say there is unlikely to be any cash to pay them.

Creditors include HSBC, which held a debenture over the company’s assets, claiming more than £2m, but has been warned not to expect a payout.

Twenty-two employees made redundant in September 2023 are claiming an estimated £3,833 as preferential creditors.

A pension company is also claiming £2,452 in unpaid contributions.

HM Revenue and Customs, a secondary preferential creditor, has submitted a claim for £510,401 in unpaid taxes.

Administrators said: “We do not expect there to be any return to secondary preferential creditors.”