Welsh cheese firm enters administration

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GRH has the facility to make a range of Cheddars, mozzarella mixes and territorial cheeses

Welsh cheese producer GRH Food Company has made 82 members of staff redundant after falling into administration.

Paul Dumbell and David Costley-Wood at KPMG were appointed as joint administrators to Snowdonia-based GRH on 24 June after the company suffered cash flow issues and was unable to meet its financial obligations.

The majority of the staff were made redundant shortly before the appointment of the administrators, with just four members of staff retained in the short term to support the administration process.

Commenting on the manufacturer’s situation, Dumbell said: “GRH was an ambitious business that had grown in recent years, but the squeeze of increased costs and liabilities put too much pressure on its finances. Despite efforts to market the business for sale, a buyer could not be found, which led to the administration.

Explore all options

“Although the facility will not trade during the administration period, we continue to explore all options for this multi-million-pound production facility.”

The news comes less than two years after the manufacturer invested £6.5m in the new factory at Snowdonia Business Park, Minffordd, which was supported by a £1.7m grant from the Welsh Government.

At the time, GRH MD Andrew Hockridge said the investment, which created 50 new jobs, would grow the company from a “£16m business today to potentially up to £50m over the next few years”.

GRH has the facility to make a range of Cheddars, mozzarella mixes and territorial cheeses for retail and foodservice customers and was developing exports to customers across the globe.