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Food firm ceases trading with 200 jobs at risk

Getty Images Person picking potatoes from a fieldGetty Images
QV Realisations Ltd, a potato packer and supplier, stopped trading on Monday

A vegetable producer in Lincolnshire has gone into administration, putting about 200 jobs at risk.

Administrators have been appointed to QV Realisations Ltd, part of the AH Worth Group, after the company suffered "significant losses" in the past two years.

Paul Meadows, a joint administrator at Teneo Financial Advisory Ltd, said QV Realisations ceased trading on Monday after efforts to find a buyer failed.

AH Worth Group said its "fresh and prepared operations" at premises in Holbeach had been affected, but other businesses, including in Fosdyke, continued to "trade as normal".

'Sad day'

Duncan Worth, the group chief executive, said: “This is a very sad day for our business and especially all our colleagues affected at Holbeach. This is not a decision that we have taken lightly and one we only took after exploring all other possible options.”

He said the remaining businesses were "profitable" and the group would "continue to work with our customers to look at how we can develop, grow and invest in our business”.

"We are confident that we will continue to build a strong and successful future for AH Worth Group," Mr Worth added.

"We have an excellent portfolio of products, with end-to-end supply chains."

AH Worth Building with sunset in backgroundAH Worth
The Holbeach site employed about 200 people

AH Worth was founded in 1895. It produces and supplies potatoes, sweetcorn, leeks, kale and spinach.

In their statement, the administrators said QV Realisations had been affected by a combination of volatile potato prices and increased operating costs.

Mr Meadows said a "skeleton team" remained at QV to help administrators in the "wind down of operations".

“Teneo’s specialist employee advisory team will work closely with the government's Redundancy Payments Service, Job Centre Plus and any local employers who are advertising vacancies in order to provide support to all those made redundant,” Mr Meadows added.

The AH Worth Group had provided QV Realisations with "considerable support" in recent years, the administrators said, and "all other companies in the group" were "profitable with strong balance sheets".

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