Swancote Foods’ Telford factory to close this month

The decision follows the announcement on 15 August regarding the potential closure of Swancote Foods and the commencement of a 30-day consultation period with staff.

The early conclusion of the consultation period was recommended by staff representatives in order to give all employees as much time as possible to begin practical preparations for the future.

PI management would aim to redeploy as many employees as possible into suitable alternative roles across the group and to facilitate outplacement and training support for all at Swancote, PI said in a statement.

‘Underlying performance unsustainable’​

“The board of PI confirmed that this has been a very difficult decision and that the business has been operating at a loss for several years, with the underlying performance remaining unsustainable,”​ the statement read.

Group chief executive Angus Armstrong paid tribute to all Swancote employees for the professional way they had conducted themselves throughout the consultation process.

Swancote has been operating at a loss for the past three financial years, following a metal contamination incident in May 2015, which cost the company £600,000​​. Continued losses for the processor resulted in a £2m charge in impaired fixed assets being levelled on the facility by the board of directors.

Lost major contract​

In addition, in October last year, Swancote announced the loss of a major supply contract, which was slated to wind up this summer​​.

Greenvale AP, which is in turn owned by Produce Investments, is the trading body and direct owner of Swancote, having acquired the business in 2007.

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Swancote Foods was established in 1995 and makes prepared potato products for wholesale and foodservice customer, local authority caterers and other food manufacturers. Products using the potatoes it supplies as an ingredient include pies with mashed potato topping, fish cakes, soups, potato salads and salads.