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Country Style Foods exec heads up PoleStar Okehampton buyout firm Devonshire Desserts

Devonshire Desserts - the newly created vehicle set up to acquire the plant, machinery and freehold of the former PoleStar desserts factory at Okehampton - is led by Country Style Foods executive Joe Wood, Food Manufacture understands.

Devonshire Desserts describes itself as a new company but has not explained who owns the business or what its plans are for Okehampton, so it is not yet clear whether it aims to re-employ some of the 232 staff at the site that have just lost their jobs.

A spokesman, who did not identify himself, told Food Manufacture this week: "Devonshire Desserts is engaged in a detailed evaluation of the Okehampton plant. The future of the Okehampton factory will depend upon the outcome of this evaluation."

Country Style Foods, which has sites in Flint, Peterlee, Stockton, Leeds and Grimsby, is understood to have been looking at PoleStar's facilities at Okehampton and Leamington Spa in recent weeks.

Although PoleStar's other factory at Leamington Spa went into administration in November, staff at Okehampton had believed their jobs were secure after Privet Capital - an expert in ‘turnaround private equity funding solutions' - stepped in late last year to buy the site.

However, just two months after Privet claimed its intervention would provide PoleStar with a "renewed focus, increased financial strength and a clear strategic plan", 232 staff were informed at the end of January that due to "unforeseen problems", they were being made redundant .

PoleStar Foods was formed in December 2009 following the acquisition of Heinz's UK frozen desserts business, with financial backing from Bank Leumi (UK), but quickly ran into financial problems.

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