Orchard House Foods: Firm to enter administration as staff wait for redundancy pay

The firm announced the closure of its plant on Gateshead's Team Valley Trading Estate in August

A fruit and juice firm which supplies the likes of M&S, Tesco and Pret A Manger is to enter administration.

Orchard House Foods has a plant in Corby, Northamptonshire, and had closed its site in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear.

Some 480 jobs were lost on Tyneside and workers at the Team Valley factory are still to receive redundancy pay-outs.

The firm blamed "extremely challenging economic and trading conditions" and called the move a "difficult decision".

Operations had been wound down in Gateshead after it announced plans in August to relocate work to its plant in Northamptonshire.

It said once an administrator was appointed former staff in the North East would be able to claim their redundancy through the Insolvency Service.

'Additional support'

"The economic conditions have meant increased input prices and overheads, and this has significantly increased pressure on our cash position," a spokesperson said.

"For our colleagues at our site in Corby, once appointed, the administrator will step in to run the business, repay our creditors and review strategic options for the business.

"For our former employees at Gateshead, once an administrator is appointed, they will be able to claim any outstanding monies owed, including the delayed redundancy payments, via The Insolvency Service.

"We expect this to happen as soon as the administrator has been appointed and we will be providing them with additional support to help with their claims."