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More details have been revealed on the administration of a North Yorkshire online meat retailer that supplied Harrods, Selfridges, Fortnum & Mason and Michelin star restaurants.
Farmison & Co was acquired out of administration in April 2023 by a consortium led by former Asda chief executive Andy Clarke and Chilli Marketing’s Gareth Whittle, Christian Barton and Kieron Barton. A phased reopening of the business began last month.
The company sold online directly to customers across the UK, and through wholesale channels.
A report to the creditors of FL Meat Realisations 2023 Ltd (formerly Farmison Ltd) prepared by the administrators has set out the circumstances leading to the company’s collapse.
The report said Farmison’s revenues grew to £12m from £5.4m in 2020, due to the impact of Covid-19, and further growth was expected in the following years.
In 2021, shareholders made the decision to realise their investment in the business, with specialist consumer brand investor Inverleith subsequently acquiring the business in 2022. The firm’s initial investment was £7.25m.
The forecast growth did not materialise and Farmison & Co reported a loss of £2.6m on £11.9m turnover in 2021 and a £3.4m loss on £10.5m turnover in 2022.
Additional funding was sought through a crowdfunding campaign on Seedrs in December 2022.
However, before the crowdfunding process could be completed, the level of losses meant the company faced a funding shortfall.
Advice was sought from FRP in January 2023 and an accelerated merger and acquisition process was launched. A total of 229 parties were contacted, with 24 going on to sign non-disclosure agreements, but no acceptable offers were received.
Alongside a solvent sale, a number of alternatives were discussed for the business, including a CVA, administrative receivership, shutdown administration, a trading administration and sale of the business as a going concern, and a restructuring plan.
In March, FRP was engaged by Farmison to conduct discussions regarding a pre-pack deal for its business and assets of the company.
Two offers were received for a pre-pack deal, with one accepted. However, the proposed purchaser withdrew due to concerns over service contract liabilities.
The decision was then taken to place the company into administration, with FRP appointed on 6 April. Later in the month, the business was sold the consortium.
A spokesperson for the new owners said: “We’re pleased to have rescued the business from administration, re-employing many of the team in Ripon and bringing back its hand-picked farmers from across the north of England.
“We’re already trading again and we’re grateful for the messages of support from customers.
“That positive reaction underlines how much potential we know there is for the kind of high-quality, traceable produce Farmison offers.
“The whole team is now focused on making Farmison the success we know it can be, serving customers who want to eat better meat.”
The administrators’ report has also revealed that secured creditor Santander is owned £1.9m, and a shortfall of about £1.8m is expected. A shortfall of about £7.3m is expected for unsecured creditors.
