Acting on behalf of administrator Begbies Traynor, auctioneer Sweeney Kincaid has published an online advert for the “major sale by tender of an exceptionally modern root vegetable processing plant and equipment” in Amble, Northumberland.
The sale by tender of 237 lots is due to close at 12pm on Wednesday February 23, “with premium offers…considered at any point in time for the plant as a whole”. However, the auction notice says that no sale can be concluded prior to January 20, due to an “existing contract being in place”.
Due to payment issues
A spokeswoman for Sir Alan Beith, MP for Berwick upon Tweed, who has sought explanations from Longbenton Foods' management and administrator Bob Maxwell over continued site uncertainty, told FoodManufacture.co.uk last night: “Sir Alan has learnt that there are some payment issues regarding the deal agreed between Longbenton Foods and administrator Begbies Traynor.
“To this extent it appears that Begbies are continuing to market the site: Sir Alan is in contact with both the administrator and Longbenton Foods, and we expect to see some kind of development by the end of the week.
“Obviously, we are hoping that the plant can continue production in some form, and that local jobs can be safeguarded.”
Workers' confusion
Begbies Traynor declined to comment on the site dispute when contacted by this publication, but said it did expect to publish news relating to the Amble plant by the end of this week.
The sale is the latest chapter in a saga that has seen the factory close in early December, open again briefly on December 20, then close again four days later as Begbies Traynor locked it up; the administrator originally brokered the deal that saw the former Northumberland Foods site reopen under the Longbenton banner last November and re-employ 70 former staff.
Begbies Traynor confirmed in mid-December that it was embroiled in an "ongoing court case" with Longbenton Foods, believed to be because the firm failed to meet site conditions of sale, but it was thought this had been resolved when the site reopened in late December.
Amble Town Council councillor Ian Hinson said: “The factory has remained closed since before Christmas. Some workers in Amble were told in the middle of last week that something might happen by that Friday, but nothing did.”