Administrators confirm desserts maker takeover talks

Talks “​with a view to concluding a sale”​ of Indulgence Patisserie were ongoing, according to administrators RSM Restructuring Advisory.

Abigail Shearing and Steven Law of RSM were appointed joint administrators on 20 January. All staff have been retained as RSM seek to conclude a sale of the business.

Founded in 1988, Indulgence Patisserie has been producing bespoke own-label and branded desserts for retail and foodservice since 1997.

Indulgence brand​

The firm makes products such as cheesecake, gateaux, tiramisu and parfait under the Indulgence brand, along with pastry desserts, coffee shop-style cakes and hot eating desserts. It started exporting in 2003.

The company’s annual report and accounts, to 31 May 2018, showed a 16% fall in turnover, to £6.1m. It made an operating loss of £424k for the year, in contrast to an operating profit of £480k for the previous financial year.

In September 2018, Indulgence Patisserie was fined £50,000 after the managing director Angus Allan’s mother seriously injured her pelvis falling through fragile ceiling tiles.

Control measure failures​

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive found the company had not implemented control measures for employees working near this fragile tile area.

Anne Allan fell approximately 2.7m to the floor below, suffering serious injuries to her pelvis, resulting in a five-day stay in hospital. She made a full recovery and returned to work.

In 2014, the dessert maker aimed to create 25–30 jobs in three years after moving into a new £2.5m factory​​ in Colchester.