Singleton's cheesemakers enters administration

The rising cost of milk and the pandemic have impacted the industry

An 80-year-old family-run cheese company has gone into administration.

Lancashire-based Singleton's & Co cheese, which exports cheese to over 30 countries worldwide, blamed the effects of Covid-19 and the rising cost of milk.

Administrators said the company, which employs 81 people, had tried unsuccessfully to sell the business.

Sixty-nine people have been made redundant with 12 members of staff kept as part of the administration process.

The family, who have been dairy farming in Longridge since 1745, supply produce for retail and wholesale.

The Singleton family have been dairy farming in Longridge since 1745

Andrew Knowles, senior director at Kroll, who have been appointed as administrators, said: "Singletons has a long-established track record for its products.

"However, like many companies in this sector, it has had to manage the effects of Covid-19, the rising costs of milk and other additional overheads."

Local cheesemaker Graham Kirkham who runs Mrs Kirkham's Lancashire Cheese in nearby Inglewhite said it was "unbelievable" as Singleton's had "just been there forever" but he echoed a hike in costs was impacting the industry.

"There has been a massive increase in production costs, particularly the farming sector," he said, citing the almost tripling costs of fertilizer and diesel involved in milk production which "have got to be passed on".

He also blamed the combination of Brexit making paperwork "more challenging" and the pandemic's impact on exporting products globally.

"If your product is not continuously there in the counters, people drift," he said.