New Zealand fresh-produce supplier Speirs Foods has been placed into voluntary administration.
In a statement today (22 September), the company's majority owner, Speirs Group, confirmed the appointment of Jessica Kellow and Iain Shephard from BDO Wellington as joint and "several administrators".
The appointment covers both Speirs Foods and Speirs Foods General Partner Ltd. with immediate effect, according to the statement.
Based in Marton, the business produces and distributes fresh foods, mainly salads, to supermarkets and foodservice customers across New Zealand.
It has traded for more than 50 years and employs up to 60 staff.
The decision follows a request by the company’s directors on 16 September for the secured lender to appoint a receiver.
After discussions with the lender and legal counsel, the directors resolved to enter voluntary administration.
Ahead of the appointment of BDO Wellington, the company’s managing director Craig Tucker stepped down from his role yesterday.
In the statement on 16 September, Speirs Foods said annual sales volumes had continued to decline. The fall had “increased” over the past year as supermarket customers were “no longer purchasing the same volumes of salads”.
The company also cited “sustained pressure” on margins across the fresh food manufacturing sector.
“The business has experienced significant increases in labour, raw material, packaging, freight, energy and other input costs. These pressures have been further exacerbated by recent inflationary impacts associated with international instability, including the Iranian war,” last week's statement read.
For the six months ended 31 December, the company reported revenue of NZ$6.51m ($3.73m) compared to NZ$7.58m a year earlier.
The total loss attributable to owners and non-controlling interests was NZ$474,000, compared with a loss of NZ$527,000 in the previous year.
For the year ended 30 June 2025, the company’s revenue increased 1.2% to NZ$16.31m from 12 months earlier.
The total loss for the period narrowed by 74.8% to NZ$227,000.
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