More than 130 jobs have been saved after a UK flour milling group was rescued out of administration.
Smiths Flour Mills, Corndon and Sage Acquisition were bought by Northamptonshire-based Whitworth Bros.
Zolfo Cooper – which was appointed to handle the group yesterday – acted swiftly to secure the immediate sale of the group.
Joint administrators Nick Cropper, Alastair Beveridge and Anne O’Keefe confirmed all 130 staff will transfer across with the business continuing to trade as normal.
The group’s administration was blamed on a ‘challenging period’ within the sector which saw high levels of competition impacting profitability and leading to ‘significant financial pressure’.
But Beveridge said: “We are pleased to have secured an immediate sale of the business which will ensure the future of the group. We wish the business all the best for its future.”
The group – which was based at three sites in Worksop, Langley and Holbeach – is recgonised as one of the largest independent flour millers in the UK.
In the 1820s the Smiths family established mills at Langley and Walsall before acquiring the Worksop site as head office in 1906.
By Andy Pearce
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