A historic cheese maker, which owed almost £4m to its creditors when it collapsed into administration with the loss of almost 70 jobs, has been sold.
Singleton's Dairy, which is based in Longridge, Lancashire, has been acquired by Inglewhite-based Carron Lodge for an undisclosed sum.
Trading as Singletons & Co, the company has handcrafted cheeses for more than 80 years but entered administration in August, with the loss of 69 roles.
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According to a document filed with Companies House by administrators Kroll, Singleton's Dairy owed over £2.9m to unsecured creditors when the firm was appointed.
It also owed more than £97,000 to preferential creditors, almost £440,000 to the pension fund and over £280,000 to its secured creditor, Close Brothers.
In the document, Kroll added that the debt to Close Brothers had now been settled in full.
On how the business entered administration, Kroll said: "The company historically traded profitably, however in 2018 it lost its distribution rights to a third-party product which significantly impacted trade.
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"This resulted in losses of c.£629,000 and c.£1,1800,000 in the subsequent financial years.
"The financial difficulties worsened as a result of the impact of Covid-19, as well as the rising costs of milk, and in August 2022 the directors instructed Kroll to consider the contingency options available to the company and market the business for sale on an accelerated basis.
"A number of parties expressed interest in the business but no offers were received."
Andrew Knowles, senior director at Kroll said: "Singleton’s and many of its brands have a well-established reputation for quality products both locally and abroad. With the completion of this deal, we’re pleased that this long-standing tradition will continue into the future."
The deal was supported by Taylors Solicitors and Sanderson Weatherall, who provided legal and property advisory.
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