Thu, 28 Nov 2024 | ADMINISTRATION
Iconic tea brand Typhoo Tea has crashed into administration threatening the future of 100 jobs.
The Bristol-based group, which was bought by private equity firm Zetland Capital in 2021, filed a court notice on November 28th, to bring in administrators from risk and financial advisory company Kroll.
Typhoo posted a notice of intention to appoint administrators last week to give it some ‘breathing space to explore solutions’.
The decision follows years of setbacks such as more Brits favouring coffee to the traditional cuppa, a shortage of tea paper, and a break-in by trespassers at its closed Wirral factory last August, which damaged machinery, hit stock levels, customer orders and delayed the building's sale.
The incident contributed to exceptional costs of £24 million in its last annual results.
The company has also been hit by the pandemic, the cost of living crisis and supply chain disruption from the Ukraine war.
The company’s losses widened to £38 million from £9.6 million in the year to the end of September 2023 while sales fell to £25.3 million from £33.7 million.
Some of its lost sales have been well-intentioned. Its chief executive, the former head of Burts crisps Dave McNulty, was brought in October leading to a shake-up of its supply chain. In an attempt to stop sexual violence against women working on its tea plantations in east Africa it reduced the number of plantations in the region from 300 to three.
A statement from Typhoo said: "The company has experienced significant cash flow constraints as a result of supply chain disruptions and subsequent service issues. The company has been exploring a sale of the business and assets which is in the process of concluding. The administration process provides Typhoo Tea with protection, allowing the Joint Administrators to finalise the sale in order to rescue the business."
The company, known for its ‘you only get an oo with Typhoo’ advertisements was founded in 1903 by Birmingham grocer John Sumner.
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