New documents have revealed that Plant & Bean lost more than £7 million between 2019 and 2022, and owed creditors more than £6 million at the time of administration.

The recently published report from Interpath Advisory – the firm hired to handle Plant & Bean’s administration process – details the background and events leading to the manufacturer entering administration, as well as the details of the sale and dividend prospects for secured creditors.

Interpath said that the company had suffered losses of £5.3 million in the two-year period between June 2019, when it was established, and June 2021. Despite strategic turnaround initiatives intended to improve its operating margin, further losses of £1.7 million were generated in the period to September 2021.

As reported by The Plant Base in June, James Clark and Howard Smith were appointed as joint administrators of the company on 31 May 2023, after which the company’s Lincolnshire manufacturing facility was bought by Vbites founder Heather Mills.

The filings revealed that Mills bought the facility and its machinery for £2.9 million, enabling administrators to pay back lenders HSBC and HMRC. Interpath said that it is yet to be confirmed whether unsecured creditors will be paid the outstanding £3.7 million.

Mills’ purchase covered only the company’s assets – the bulk of Plant & Bean’s workforce was made redundant on 19 June 2023, with just two members of staff retained to maintain security at the site until the sale was completed.

Plant & Bean’s intellectual property and stock were sold to its former parent company, Brecks.

The company also owns a 49% share in a manufacturing facility in Thailand, near to completion, north of Bangkok. The factory was intended to manufacture plant-based food for the South-East Asian market. The company’s Thai shareholders, Nove, agreed to acquire the stake for £10,000.

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