Investigations are continuing into alleged food fraud by a company founded in the Harrogate district.

The Food Standards Agency has confirmed it is still looking into allegations made against Bleiker’s last year.

The company, established in 1993 and previously based at Glasshouses Mill in Nidderdale, fell into administration in April 2022 before the investigation was announced just days later in May.

This week, Andrew Quinn, deputy head of the national food crime unit at the Food Standards Agency, told the Stray Ferret:

“The FSA’s national food crime unit is investigating alleged food fraud and how a smokehouse supplied a large supermarket retailer with smoked salmon labelled as fresh and Scottish when it was allegedly sourced frozen from Norway.

“We regularly engage with industry to share intelligence, tackling food fraud to protect the consumer.  The national food crime unit acted on intelligence it received which resulted in one arrest being made and three further suspects were interviewed voluntarily under caution.

“It is vitally important that we ensure food is safe and what it says it is, and that consumers and food businesses are confident in the authenticity of food they are buying.”

Read more:

• Companies ‘unlikely’ to receive pay-out from Bleiker’s Smoke House, say administrators
• Food fraud investigation into Bleiker’s Smokehouse

Meanwhile, the latest update from administrators shows the purchaser has not paid the agreed amount for the business’ assets.

The unnamed purchaser had agreed to pay £225,000 for stock, as well as fixtures and fittings, the business name and website, and other assets, in a sale which completed in December.

However, the administrators reported the purchaser could not pay the full sum at that time. Having agreed a schedule of £5,000 a month, they have since defaulted and administrators are liaising with solicitors to consider their next steps.

Administrators have also sought legal advice from Leeds-based Schoosmiths solicitors after analysing Bleikers’ bank statement activity.

The report said:

“We have carried out an analysis of the company’s bank statement activity and reviewed the accounting information available.

“We have sought feedback from our solicitors (Shoosmiths) with regards to certain matters identified during the investigation.”

Staff at failed Harrogate company Amvoc are likely to receive some payment following its collapse, administrators have said.

However, HMRC and unsecured creditors are unlikely to receive any money due to a lack of property.

The telemarketing company, which was based at Cardale Park, collapsed and was placed into administration in March this year.

Staff were left shocked on March 17 when they received a late night email from chief executive Damian Brockway saying “all our offices are closed with effect from tonight”. It went on to blame “covid debts”.

In a report published today, Gareth Lewis, Lewis Business Recovery and Insolvency, said the company would work to make a payment to staff as part of the administration process.

As part of the process, former employees are classed as “ordinary preferential creditors”.

However, HMRC, which is classed as a “secondary preferential creditor”, and unsecured credits are expected to receive no money.

Mr Lewis said:

“A dividend to ordinary preferential creditors appears achievable.

“However, it appears that there will be no property available to enable a distribution to secondary preferential or unsecured creditors.”

Read more:

• Administrators reveal state of Harrogate firm Amovc’s finances
• Hundreds of job losses as Harrogate company goes under
• Collapsed Harrogate firm Amvoc set to enter administration

The company owed £1.2 million to HMRC, which included unpaid VAT, unpaid employees PAYE and national insurance, student loan deductions and industry scheme deductions.

In an administrators’ statement of affairs last week, it was also revealed Amvoc owed £546,534.71 to former employees against assets of £302,802.63.

It also has £868,267 worth of unsecured creditors. Among them is Hemel Hempstead-based data marketing firm, Aura Media Group, which is owed £154,467.38.

Mr Lewis said administrators would now work to make a payment to preferential creditors.

High staff turnover and winding up petition

Mr Brockway set up Amvoc, the trading name of A Marketing Vocation Ltd, from a small office in Dacre in 2010. It sold telemarketing services, initially in the legal sector, and grew rapidly, moving first to Pateley Bridge and then to large offices at New York Mills near Summerbridge.

It opened a new head office on Cardale Park in Harrogate in 2015, a facility in Leeds in 2018 and an office in Manchester in 2022.  It also had plans to expand to London.

At the time of its collapse, Amvoc employed 230 staff.

Mr Lewis said in his report that in September 2017, the company entered into a company voluntary arrangement as a result of “cash flow difficulties” because of the loss of a major customer and “significant bad debt”.

He helped the company pay its creditors claims in full with interest, which was completed on March 31, 2020. However, this coincided with the start of the covid pandemic.

Gareth Lewis of Lewis Business Recovery and Insolvency.

Mr Lewis said the nature of Amvoc’s trade was such that it had “high fixed overheads”, a high staff turnover and that it was not equipped for the pandemic.

He said:

“It had a constant high turnover of employees, regularly having 20-30 employees leave and start each month.

“It was not equipped at the outset of the pandemic to facilitate working from home and also could not operate safely in the ‘call centre’ environment.”

In August 2020, despite the easing of restrictions, Amvoc’s offices were closed by Public Health England after 50 staff contracted coronavirus.

Meanwhile, many of the company’s customers held back on projects due to uncertainty of the pandemic. This led to the firm being unable to generate sales from telemarketing.

Between, April 1, 2020, and September 30, 2021, Amvoc reported a pre-tax operating loss of £1.7 million.

The following year, the company reported a pre-tax profit of £350,000. However, this was not enough to pay off debts.

Mr Lewis said:

“This was insufficient for the company to meet its debts as and when they fell due, most notably HM Revenue and Customs, who by this stage had increased pressure on the company.”

On March 13 this year, Mr Lewis attended Amvoc’s offices to discuss the company’s financial position.

He then contacted HMRC, who had indicated they would be passing a file to its solicitors to issue a winding up petition. This was formally issued on March 16.

The following day, a company director took the decision to inform staff that the company would no longer be trading.

Staff were told by Mr Brockway on March 17 that all Amvoc offices would be closed.

Amvoc’s clients included BP, Barclays, Virgin Media, Leeds Beckett University, and both the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties.

Twenty-three former employees found work with Brighton-based One-Family, which was a former customer of Amvoc.

Meanwhile, Law firm Aticus said in the days after Amvoc’s collapse it had been contacted by 145 former employees.

The law firm said it was investigating the circumstances of the company’s collapse and concerns around how the redundancy process was managed, as well as whether ex-staff are eligible to claim for compensation. 

Administrators have revealed the state of failed Harrogate firm Amvoc’s finances.

The telemarketing company, which was based at Cardale Park, collapsed and was placed into administration in March this year.

Staff were left shocked on March 17 when they received a late night email from chief executive Damian Brockway saying “all our offices are closed with effect from tonight”. It went on to blame “covid debts”.

A statement of affairs published by administrators Lewis Business Recovery and Insolvency showed the company owes £546,534.71 to preferential creditors against assets of £302,802.63.

This includes wage arrears, holiday pay and pension contribution arrears.

The company also owes £1.2 million to HMRC, which is classed as a “second preferential creditor”.

It also has £868,267 worth of unsecured creditors.

Hemel Hempstead-based data marketing firm, Aura Media Group, is owed £154,467.38 and is among the highest creditors on the list.

Founded in 2010

Mr Brockway set up Amvoc, the trading name of A Marketing Vocation Ltd, from a small office in Dacre in 2010. It sold telemarketing services, initially in the legal sector, and grew rapidly, moving first to Pateley Bridge and then to large offices at New York Mills near Summerbridge.

It opened a new head office on Cardale Park in Harrogate in 2015, a facility in Leeds in 2018 and an office in Manchester in 2022.  It also had plans to expand to London.

Amvoc’s clients included BP, Barclays, Virgin Media, Leeds Beckett University, and both the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties.

When the Stray Ferret tried to contact Mr Brockway following the collapse of the company, an immediate email response said:

“I regret to inform you that Amvoc has been forced to cease trading with immediate effect due to financial difficulties.

“We understand that this news may come as a shock to many of you, and we want to assure you that we are doing everything possible to manage the situation.

“We are in the process of contacting all our staff, clients and partners to inform them of the situation and provide any necessary information. We apologise for any inconvenience or disruption this may cause, and we are committed to minimising the impact on our stakeholders as much as possible.”

Read more:

• Law firm to represent about 100 staff at failed Harrogate firm
• Hundreds of job losses as Harrogate company goes under
• Collapsed Harrogate firm Amvoc set to enter administration

Its website said it employed 450 staff but the Stray Ferret believes the figure at the time the company collapsed was under 300.

Twenty-three former employees found work with Brighton-based One-Family, which was a former customer of Amvoc.

Meanwhile, Law firm Atticus said in the days after Amvoc’s collapse it had been contacted by 145 former employees.

The law firm said it was investigating the circumstances of the company’s collapse and concerns around how the redundancy process was managed, as well as whether ex-staff are eligible to claim for compensation. 

Black Sheep Brewery in Masham is “trading as normal” after announcing it intended to appoint administrators.

The company announced the move, which it said was done to “protect the interests of creditors”, yesterday.

The brewery had launched a strategic review to explore funding options to develop the business, but last Friday confirmed it was no longer considering the sale of the company and then said yesterday it planned to appoint administrators.

The Stray Ferret asked the firm whether the move to give notice on appointing administrators affected jobs or trade at the company.

A spokesperson said that the “business continued to trade as normal” and that staff were being paid.

The firm added “no shares will be traded on asset match until further notice” as a result of the decision.

According to its most recent accounts, Black Sheep reported turnover of £14.3 million as of 31 March, 2022.

However, it also recorded a pre-tax loss of £1.18 million compared to £862,871 profit in the previous year.

‘Gloom’ descends on Masham

The move to appoint administrators was met with concern in Masham, where Black Sheep and Theakston breweries dominate the town.

Ian Johnson, a parish councillor in Masham, told the Stray Ferret that the news was a “difficult situation” which had caused “a bit of gloom”.

Read more:

• Masham’s Black Sheep Brewery to enter administration
• About 500 Harrogate firms set for ballot on whether to keep BID

However, he remained hopeful the brewery could turn its fortunes around.

He said:

“Masham is a brewery town. It’s a brewery town full stop.

“I hope there is still a future. We all do. I am sure someone would want the brand.”

In a post on its social media this afternoon, Black Sheep said it had received “supportive messages” since making the announcement.

Thanks for all the supportive messages since our announcement, BUT we've not gone anywhere!

We've just had 22 tonnes of malt delivered and are busily making more beer and can supply everyone as normal. So, if you’d like to help us, get out to your local and sup some Black Sheep! pic.twitter.com/CYHVR8EyIG

— Black Sheep Brewery (@BlackSheepBeer) May 3, 2023

It added:

“We’ve just had 22 tonnes of malt delivered and are busily making more beer and can supply everyone as normal.

“So, if you’d like to help us, get out to your local and sup some Black Sheep.”

Black Sheep, which was founded in 1992 by Paul Theakston, appointed Teneo as its financial advisor to support its funding review in April.

At the time, the company said it was experiencing good sales volumes of its beers, however there remained a significant constraint on funding due to economic conditions.

A consortium led by Farmison & Co founder John Pallagi has submitted a bid to bring back the firm.

The premium online meat retailer ceased trading nine days ago and went into administration with the loss of 75 jobs.

But Mr Pallagi said he and two “high profile Yorkshire businessmen” made an offer last night to administrator FRP to buy the business and its assets.

He said the offer, if accepted, would revive Farmison and provide jobs for 50 staff.

Mr Pallagi said the consortium believed in the business model and recognised the value of the firm to Ripon. He added:

“Farmison is very important to Ripon and I am thrilled that we have attracted the interest of high profile Yorkshire businessmen with proven track records.

“It’s great that we’ve got to this point but we are not there yet.”

FRP said on Wednesday it planned to begin the sale of assets. It will now assess the bid before deciding whether to accept it.

Mr Pallagi said he hoped to have an answer by midday Monday so Farmison could operate again as quickly as possible and “create the best level of continuity possible”.

Not only have jobs been lost, but the supply chain has also been interrupted.

Last year Mr Pallagi sold the award-winning firm, whose customers include Harrods and Fortnum & Mason, to Scottish private investors Inverleith LLP.

Mr Pallagi remained as chief executive and a new three-year business plan was agreed.

FRP’s statement on Wednesday outlined the issues that brought down the award-winning company after the takeover. It said:

“The business recently underwent a fundraising process to secure external investment to support its business plan but did not secure a sufficient level of interest.

“Following a period of significant operational investment, the business has not generated the required level of revenues to sustain its high cost base.”

Read more:

• Assets to be sold at failed Ripon firm Farmison
• “Intense’ talks to save Ripon firm Farmison after buyout collapses

Former staff at CNG Group look set to receive £43,200 in claims against the failed Harrogate firm.

CNG, which employed about 145 staff, blamed spiralling wholesale gas and electricity prices for going out of business in 2021.

Administrators Interpath Advisory has published a progress report, which was uploaded on the Companies House website this week, for the period from September 2 last year to March 1.

It said staff — classed as ordinary preferential claimants — claimed £43,200 for arrears of wages up to a maximum of £800 a week, accrued holiday pay and pension benefits.

The report by joint administrators Timothy Bateson and Christopher Pole added:

“We anticipate that ordinary preferential creditors should receive a dividend of 100p in the £.”

Administrators paid £635 an hour

The report also revealed Interpath is being paid £635 an hour for handling the administration. It said:

“We have incurred time costs of £153,269. These represent 241 hours at an average rate of £635 per hour.”

Interpath’s final fee by the time administration is due to end on March 1 next year is expected to be £298,759.

Preferential creditors are expected to be paid in full, the report said, and “it is likely that the unsecured creditors will receive a dividend” although the amount is unknown.

The timing of payments is also unclear.

The report described the company’s primary assets as “inter-company debtor balances and investments in others groups”.

These are expected to generate “significant realisations” but the administrators added:

“The flow of funds between the CNG group of companies is complex and will depend on each company within the group resolving matters which are currently preventing distributions being made to the company.”

Read more:

• 45 former CNG staff in £210,000 tribunal win against Harrogate firm
• CNG building in Harrogate goes back on the market
• Administrators reveal state of Harrogate firm CNG Energy’s finances

Clothing retailer M&Co is set to shut its Ripon branch.

The Scottish company, which sells clothes and homeware, went into administration for a second time in December last year.

The Ripon store had previously been saved from closure in 2020 when the firm went through a financial restructure.

However, M&Co is set to close all of its outlets after the sale of the retailer to AK Retail Holdings did not include physical stores.

The closures were announced in social media posts by individual branches across the UK.

It said:

“Unfortunately we haven’t received the news we would have hoped for during our administration period, and would like to share this news with you.

“As we haven’t received any funded, deliverable offers that would result in the transfer of the company’s stores or staff to a potential buyer, this means that all of our stores will close.”

Read more:

• M&Co store in Ripon saved from closure
• Graveley’s fish and chip shop to reopen in Harrogate tomorrow

The company has 170 stores nationwide and employs some 1,900 staff.

Joint administrators Gavin Park, Adele MacLeod and Rob Harding of Teneo Financial Advisory Limited were appointed to oversee the retailer in December 2022.

Speaking at the time, Mr Park said M&Co had seen increasing costs at a time of decline in “customer confidence”.

He said:

“Like many retailers, the Company has experienced a sharp rise in its input costs, which has coincided with a decline in consumer confidence leading to trading challenges. 

“Despite a very loyal customer base, particularly in local markets, and a well-recognised brand, the current economic outlook has placed increasing pressure on the Company’s cash position.”