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Longbenton Foods in administration

Newcastle firm Longbenton Foods entered administration last Friday, putting an end to a month of uncertainty for staff who were kept in the dark over whether they still had jobs.

Workers were sent home from the mammoth frozen foods factory in Benton Lane, Newcastle - which made Findus Food products such as Crispy Pancakes - on February 18, without any information about when they might return to work.

Without a finish date around 100 staff were left in limbo, owed wages for February, unable to sign-on for benefits and unsure if or when production might restart.

A spokesman for Halifax-based chartered surveyors Walker Singleton confirmed that the firm is now in control of the site, although administrator Allan Chapman was unavailable to comment on whether the site is being sold as a going concern or when staff will be paid up to date.

However, one former Longbenton Foods worker told Food Manufacture "One of the employees went to the...factory to see what was happening and there is a caravan parked on site with a new sercurity firm there.

The employee was told that Walker Singleton is the company now looking after the factory."

He added that he believed regional development agency One North East had been prepared to give Longbenton md Geir Frantzen further funding for the factory if he also contributed funds, but that it had not been possible to reach an agreement.

Berwick upon Tweed MP Sir Alan Beith's press officer confirmed the firm was in administration, and said she had spoken with Frantzen on Saturday to find out what his views are: "He said he's still determined to get somewhere, and get both businesses back on track, but we're not terribly confident given what's happened."

She added that Sir Alan's was focusing on the future of staff at Longbenton Food's former Amble site. She said they were given a verbal agreement by the firm that they would be paid for days when they were sent home when production stopped shortly before Christmas, and for bank charges as a result of late wage payments, but have yet to receive monies.

Food Manufacture has tried without success to contact Longbenton Foods management for comment since February 18.

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