Cheese maker Mona Island Dairy appoints administrators

Anthony Collier and Phil Reynolds of specialist business advisory firm FRP were appointed as joint administrators of the company on Friday 7 June 2024.

Collier, administrator and partner at FRP confirmed that 24 employees have been made redundant and that work was underway to help them access support from the Redundancy Payments Service.

Funding needs

“Mona Island Dairy has a compelling proposition with its modern, sustainable facilities,” ​said Collier. “Unfortunately, it's not been able to raise the funding needed to continue operating.​

“We are now focussed on finding a solution for the business and invite any interested parties to come forward."​

Mona Dairy is a cheese plant based in Anglesey and uses a supply chain of more than 30 local farms, and employed around 50 members of experienced staff.

News of the company entering into administration comes less than a year after it unveiled the ‘UK’s first’ battery electric vehicle tractor and trailer for milk haulage​​ ahead of its multi-million-pound factory expansion.

Investment plans

The debut of the new electric vehicle was the latest in a string of sustainability investments by the dairy firm which began with the opening of a new £20m factory on Mona Industrial Park in 2022.

Mona’s new factory was capable of producing 7,000 tonnes of Welsh and continental cheeses every year and there plans to create a workforce of more than 100 by 2023.

According to analysis by law firm Shakespeare Martineau, the manufacturing sector accounted for 11% of UK administrations during 2023. This translated to 186 administrations from across the sector, a 6% increase when compared with the year prior.

Nick Stockley, partner at Sussex-based solicitors firm Mayo Wynne Baxter, sheds light on the administration process​​ and lays out the options facing food and drink firms in financial difficulty.