West Country milk processor in administration

Devon-based milk buyer and processor Farmright Group has gone into administration.

The company, which is best known for its Dairystix branded milk pouches, called in receivers Grant Thornton today (13 February) after several weeks of speculation about its future.

Administrators say the businesses have been unable to attract the equity funding needed to invest in new technology and to break into new markets in the UK and overseas.

At its peak Farmright collected more than 150m litres of milk a year from 85 contracted farms from the Scottish Borders to the West Country. It is understood that a number of farms are owed money for milk that has been delivered, but it is yet unclear whether this will be paid.

Farmright Group incorporates a number of trading activities, including Farmright Ltd which manages dedicated supply chains for milk and beef from its Gloucestershire base; Dairystix Ltd which sells the milk pouches; Quadra Foods Ltd – the 60,000sq ft Plymouth dairy processing site; and Stickpack Europe Ltd which designed and built the world’s first aseptic milk stick machine.

The administrators are reviewing the position of both Quadra Foods and Farmright in order to establish if trading can be continued and if they can sell all or any part of the business. In the meantime they cannot rule out making redundancies in both businesses.

Any party interested in acquiring the business should contact Grant Thornton on 0161 953 6327.

The Farmright Group was formed in 2008, but traces its origins back to 2000 when West Country dairy farmer Mike Bennett set up Milk Direct, now part of the group.