Bonne Bouche trouble

Unions say they are still in the dark over the reasons for the sudden demise of own-label frozen desserts manufacturer Bonne Bouche.

A shortage of working capital meant the Hartlepool-based company was unable to continue trading, said joint administrators Mark Firmin and Richard Fleming, of KPMG Restructuring. As a result, more than 230 staff have been made redundant.

However, it was not clear what sent the firm over the edge, said Alan Milne, regional officer at the Bakers, Food & Allied Workers' Union.

"There had been investment in the plant. Some new kit was due to arrive the day the administrators walked through the door," said Milne. "We were even told that they had bought a business in Wales and were going to transfer production up to Hartlepool. Everything was rosy, apparently, so it was a bit of a shock when they laid everyone off."

This marks the third time in three years that the plant has run into trouble. The site was bought by Freshbake Foods in December 2003 after its previous owner, Hibernia, went into receivership. Just six months later, Freshbake went into administration and the plant was acquired in a management buyout led by sales director Wayne Hitchman in summer 2004.

However, Hitchman departed in December 2005 and the company has since been run by financial director Richard Dean, chairman Steve Baker and operations director Jan Konig. "The whole thing is really strange," said Milne. "If they were having all these problems, why on earth were they buying another business? We haven't been told anything."

None of the management was available for comment.