Scores of jobs lost as fruit wholesaler files for administration

A Shropshire grower, importer and wholesaler of fruit has called in administrators, with the majority of the firm’s 85 staff being made redundant.

Tim Bateson and Chris Pole from Interpath Advisory were appointed joint administrators to Jupiter Marketing on 5 September.

Based near Newport in Shropshire and with subsidiary operations in Chile, Europe and South Africa, the company supplied a number of UK supermarkets.

Following a recent refinance, the company has faced a “challenging commercial period” with cost inflation in all its operating regions, as well as “dramatic” rises in shipping costs and localised supply chain challenges. As a result, the directors of the UK entity took the decision to file for administration.

A small number of people have been retained to assist the administrators.

Bateson said: “Unfortunately, following new investment in March this year, the business has faced a number of geopolitical and economic challenges which has ultimately led to its downfall. Our immediate priority is to support all employees affected by redundancy with the information they require to make claims from the Redundancy Payments Office.”