Desserts firm frozen out after buyers fail to come forward
A FROZEN food manufacturer in Warwickshire has been forced to close with the loss of more than 160 jobs after administrators failed to find a buyer for the firm.
KPMG took the decision to pull the plug on Leamington Desserts Ltd with immediate effect after no viable offer was made for the business.
Administrators had been trying to find a buyer since the firm, which made frozen desserts for supermarkets, first went into administration at the end of November.
The Leamington Spa business had been loss making for some time and despite restructuring efforts by its owners, nothing could be done to save the firm.
Will Wright, joint administrator from KPMG said: “We have had a number of discussions with interested parties but no workable offer has been forthcoming; it is with regret that we are now closing Leamington Desserts Limited with immediate effect.
“The business has always operated below capacity so a going concern sale was a tough challenge and, unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we were not able to secure a deal.”
The site originally employed 166 people. All of the staff, with the exception of five who are being retained to help with the orderly wind down of the business, have been made redundant.
Leamington Desserts Ltd had been a subsidiary of Polestar Foods Ltd. Both Polestar Foods Ltd and its Devon-based subsidiary, Okehampton Desserts Ltd, continue to trade as normal and are unaffected by the administration.
