Major farm shop for sale after sudden closure

Keelham Food Hall closed suddenly on 28 December

A large North Yorkshire farm shop has appointed administrators after closing suddenly last week.

The owners of Keelham Food Hall in Skipton, formerly known as Keelham Farm Shop, had blamed cost-of-living pressures for its closure.

Joint administrator Jonny Marston said they wanted to sell the business, which employed about 100 people, as a going concern.

He said they had "already been made aware of interest from several parties".

The award-winning buisness closed on 28 December, along with the Kind at Keelham fitness centre and on-site restaurants Keelham Kitchen and Knead Pizzeria.

A statement issued by the business on social media blamed cost of living pressures, food inflation and interest rate hikes for the decision.

It said they had not "been able to attract enough regular shoppers to cover the ever-increasing fixed overheads of the store and create a viable business moving forward".

Mr Marston and his colleague Lyn Vardy, of professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal, were appointed as administrators for Keelham Farm Shop Ltd on Friday, according to a statement released on their behalf.

The business is currently not trading, while the administrators undertake a sale process.

'Cashflow problems'

Mr Marston said: "The business has experienced financial difficulty in recent months as a result of cost inflation, which ultimately led to cashflow problems and the business ceasing to trade last week.

"The joint administrators’ priority is to explore options to sell the business as a going concern and have already been made aware of interest from several parties.

"Interested parties are invited to register their interest directly.”

The 25,000 sq ft (2,323 sq m) farm shop in Skipton was opened in 2015 by sister and brother team Victoria and James Robertshaw.

It was a second unit for their original Keelham farm shop in Thornton, Bradford.

The two farm shops separated in 2019 and the Skipton business was sold to investors in 2020.

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