Pic-topfivepolestar
The most popular news story of the year was “PoleStar Foods axes 232 jobs at Okehampton factory,” published on February 1.
The firm made 232 staff redundant at its Okehampton desserts factory just two months after Privet Capital stepped in to buy the business.
PoleStar Foods was formed in December 2009 following the acquisition of Heinz’s UK frozen desserts business but ran into serious financial difficulties within months of the purchase.
A spokeswoman said: "We are working towards an outcome where a buyer can be found for the operation in the hope that some staff can be re-employed under new ownership. There cannot be any guarantees but this is what we are working very hard towards.”
To read the article, click here.
What happened next? Less than a week after our article was published PoleStar Okehampton went into administration. The administrator said it hoped a buyer could be found that would be able to re-employ some of the 232 staff at the site that had just lost their jobs.
The business was sold later that month to Devonshire Desserts, part of Country Style Foods.