Long-established Scottish wholesaler Enterprise Foods Limited has collapsed into liquidation with debts of more than £5 million.
Enterprise Foods Limited, which was based at Reynolds Avenue in East Kilbride and traded as Localist, helped numerous Scottish suppliers, producers and farmers to sell goods to major retail and food service customers.
The failure of the company has resulted in 71 redundancies. The wholesaler has been in business for 35 years.
According to reports, the company had experienced ongoing cash flow difficulties that were built up in recent years by legacy bad debts from the failure of a number of customers, and were exacerbated by challenging market conditions in the retail and hospitality sectors.
George Lafferty, of BTG, was appointed provisional liquidator of Enterprise Foods Limited by Hamilton Sheriff Court, after a petition by the company.
Thomas McKay, managing partner of BTG in Scotland and Northern Ireland, said: “The directors had made efforts to restructure the debt of the company in order to save the business and rescue the jobs, and the loss of the jobs was sadly inevitable when this was not successful.
“There are many small suppliers to the business that are owed money, and the loss of this route to market will also have a serious knock-on effect to these food producers as well."
He added: "We are working to assess all claims and establish whether there will be any dividend paid to unsecured creditors, but it is not likely to be significant, given the level of secured debts in the business.
“Regrettably, the failure of the company has resulted in 71 redundancies and we are working closely with those affected to help them access the financial entitlements and support available to them, including assistance from Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE) and the Redundancy Payments Service.
“Our priorities now include ensuring these employees receive the guidance and advice they need during this process, and that we maximise the return from the sale of assets to the benefit of creditors.”