Dawnfresh Seafoods and R R Spink & Sons (Arbroath), have been placed into administration, resulting in hundreds of job cuts.
Administrators have been called in to seafood producer , which operates seven fish farms across Northern Ireland and Scotland as well as processing facilities in Uddingston, near Glasgow, and Arbroath.
Administrators said revealed 200 jobs have been cut as its loss-making processing plant in Uddingston closes with immediate effect, with 77 staff being retained to assist the joint administrators with the winding up process.
Callum Carmichael, partner at administrators FRP Advisory, said the business “has been unable to overcome very serious financial problems at the Uddingston facility”.
As one of the UK’s largest producers of fish and seafood, it processes 10,000 tonnes a year across 350 product lines. However, recently the business continued to suffer from rising costs, overcapacity at the Uddingston site and cash flow problems.
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“Dawnfresh is a high profile and highly regarded seafood business with a long tradition of supplying innovative products to a blue-chip customer base,” Carmichael said.
“Unfortunately, the business has been unable to overcome very serious financial problems at the Uddingston facility, but we are pleased to have secured a prompt sale of the Arbroath facility in a deal that will also preserve substantial employment in the town.
“Our focus is now on finding a buyer for the farming business whilst also realising as much value as possible from the other assets for the benefit of creditors.”
Administrators added that its Arbroath facility has been saved with all 249 jobs safe after it was sold to Lossie Seafoods Limited, as a subsidiary of Associated Seafoods Limited.
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