Meatless Farm staff made redundant as manufacturer appoints administrators

On 13 June 2023, Geoff Bouchier and Benjamin Wiles of global risk and financial services provider Kroll were appointed joint administrators of Meatless Farm.

Kroll were hired as advisors for the vegan food company at the end of May 2023 and had since been exploring all options for the business and its assets. The group declined to comment further on the situation surrounding the appointment.

Members of the senior management team had taken to social media to share their grief over the situation Meatless Farm was now in, and confirmed that a large number of people had lost their jobs.

‘All teams made redundant’

Posting on LinkedIn, commercial director Tim Offer said: “Sadly my time at Meatless Farm has come to an end. After a fantastic 10 months leading a talented and highly engaged sales team the business has unfortunately made all the teams redundant. I learnt a huge amount in a short space of time and have absolutely loved the people and the brand.”​

Interim finance executive John Loughrey bemoaned Meatless Farm’s situation while confirming both the loss of his and numerous other employees jobs.

“I have had a great time in a fantastic company, and have had the honour and pleasure of working with some amazing people,”​ he added. “It is a shame the company has not made it through this difficult period and I wish all my former colleagues the best of luck for the future.”​

Loss making

Meatless Farm has been operating at a loss for the past three years, with its most recent financial results for the year ended 31 December 2021 on Companies House revealing an operating loss of £22.9m.

Meatless Farm founder Morten Toft Bech told Food Manufacture ​sister title The Grocer​ in May that a “big investor​” withdrew from a commitment to inject a large amount of cash into the business.

“This caught the board and management team by surprise because our cash runway was timed to this anticipated incoming investment,”​ he said.

Meanwhile, alternative proteins manufacturer Plant & Bean has appointed administrators​​ following significant disruption caused by inflation.