Banham poultry company owed millions to producers

United Kingdom poultry company, Banham poultry closed last month with debts of £40m.

ShellsShots, BigStock
ShellsShots, BigStock

United Kingdom poultry company, Banham Poultry closed last month with debts of GBP40 million (US$52.4 million), BBC news reported.

An accounting firm reported that the company owed about 700 different companies and organizations GBP40 million, which is more than 50 million U.S. dollars. Of the GBP40 million worth of debt, GBP19.7m (US$25.8 million) is owed to Lloyds Bank, however, the bank is only expected to get GBP9 million (US$11.8M) of the funds, according to the accountant’s report referred to in the BBC article.

The report also explained that among the multiple companies owed are chicken hatcheries, cleaning firms, transportation companies and recruitment agencies. Those debts total GBP15 million (US$19.7 million). The BBC report explained that trade creditors are only expected to be paid four pence for every pound they are owed.

An anonymous farmer told BBC that he had suppled chicks to Banham for numerous years. He was owed hundreds of thousands of pounds the report explained. He expects to get nothing now.

According to the WATTAgNet Top Poultry Companies Database, Banham Poultry supplies chicken to major supermarkets, other established stores and wholesalers throughout the United Kingdom. The company also has its own transport department covering live, chilled, and frozen products. About 55 percent of production is whole birds and 45 percent is portions.

UK’s Chesterfield Poultry bought Banham Poultry

Banham Poultry has been acquired be fellow U.K. business Chesterfield Poultry for GBP7 million.

Banham Poultry had been in administration, with Allan Graham and Trevor Birch of Duff & Phelps appointed joint administrators of Banham Poultry Ltd and Banham Group Ltd on October 5, reported Insider Media. With the sale, about 1,000 jobs have been saved.

Chestefield Poultry, according to a report from the Eastern Press, is headquartered in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. It is a meat processor and wholesaler that supplies halal chicken to U.K. businesses. The company processes about 1.2 million birds on a weekly basis. The acquisition of Banham Poultry will enable it to nearly double its production, as Banham processes about 1 million birds weekly.

We are delighted to welcome Banham into the Chesterfield family and look forward to continuing the legacy of the brand and quality poultry production in Attleborough," Nadeem Iqbal, chief executive of Chesterfield Poultry told Insider Media.

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