Receivers BDO partners Jim Hamilton and David O’Connor say there have been some queries from interested parties, however the SIPTU Union’s initial reaction was that no buyer would be found.
In a statement, the receivers said: “It is with regret that the company has been forced to cease to trade and unfortunately we have had to inform the employees that all positions within the company are now redundant. Our primary focus is now on completing all the necessary paperwork in order that employee entitlements may be processed as quickly as possible. In tandem we will now seek a purchaser for the remaining business and assets.”
The bank is understood to be owed approximately €10 million and 160 employees have been made redundant. The company sold product under the Olhausen, Kearns, and Byrnes brands as well as own-brand sausages for Aldi, Lidl and Dunnes, and for the food service industry.
The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Richard Bruton said he hoped the business and its assets attract interest from investors. He added that the domestic market, in which Olhausen operated, had suffered severe difficulties. “The challenge for us throughout the food sector is to internationalise and grow from an Irish base.”
It has been reported that before the receivership the company had been in negotiations with two potential buyers, thought to be Larry Goodman’s Irish Food Processors and Mallon Foods. Receivers have made no comment on any current negotiations.