Canterbury Foods CEO scoops profitable assets from failed firm
Foods, the former managing director has bought up the remaining
productive processing plants under his new Medway Foods banner.
Medway Foods, headed by Canterbury ex-chief executive Paul Ainsworth, acquired three out of four pastry and food ingredients factories - and speculators expect the sale of the last remaining site to be announced shortly.
Following four difficult years for the unprofitable manufacturer PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) was called in on 3 January to oversee the administration of the ailing venture.
PwC joint administrator Ian Green said he was very pleased to announce the sale of the processing plants to Ainsworth, adding: "the deal provides a seamless transfer of ownership, thereby protecting the interests of customers and safeguarding the continued employment of over 200 people.
"I now hope to be able to realise promptly the remaining assets of the Group, including the cooked meat products business located at Yate, near Bristol."
Ainsworth reportedly paid less than £7 million for the assets, and received funding from his new financier GE Capital for the venture.
The sell-off reduced Canterbury Foods debt with Barclays Bank to £15m, but shareholders and investors may not be remunerated for the outstanding amount as limited assets remain.
AIM-listed Canterbury, whose shares were frozen at 1p three days ago, saw profits plummet as demand for its sausages, beefburgers and food ingredients declined steadily in the UK.
It was hit by a £2.7 million sales drop in the first half of last year, reflecting the industry-wide poor performance of the European frozen foods sector, and reduced demand for higher fat convenience meat products - a trend that was set to plague the company until the end.
