2,000 jobs under treat as Hibernia Foods placed in administration

Almost 2,000 jobs are in the balance today after Hibernia Foods and its subsidiaries were placed in administration.

The Dublin-based holding company, which produces US brand Sara Lee cakes under licence, is a leading European manufacturer of branded cakes, ready-meals and frozen desserts.

Hibernia Foods announced that KPMG, accountants for General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC), had placed the holding group into receivership in relation to GMAC's £17.25 million factoring facility put in place for a manufacturing plant.

It is understood that KPMG will seek a buyer for the business that will continue trading in the interim.

Last week Hibernia Foods Chief Executive Oliver Murphy and Financial Director Colm Delves were reported to be suing the company for US$2 million in a breach of contract lawsuit.

Though the two were sacked as part of a restructuring package announced last week by investors who have ploughed around US$33 million into the group during the last three years, they were successful in obtaining court injunctions against their dismissal.

Hibernia Foods has been struggling with huge debts and in the last financial statement to March this year the group paid 5.2 million euro in interest charges alone.

The group operates six manufacturing facilities across the UK: two own-label plants in Hartlepool employing 690, and the Sara Lee/Entenmanns factory which employs almost 550; another own-label plant in Stockton-on-Tees employs 200.

The group also operates a chilled dessert factory in Birmingham employing around 250 people and a Mr Brain's plant in Bristol that employs 200. Another 30 are employed in the group's administrative headquarters in Dublin.

At the start of October, Hibernia announced plans for a new £3 million facility to produce Mr Brain's Faggots in Hartlepool and a competition to boost sales of the pork product.

(SP)