Abel & Cole has reported huge losses and have been devalued despite recent reports of a turnaround in the fortunes of organic fresh produce businesses.
The London-focused organic food delivery group made a loss of £26.7 million in the year to the end of last August, compared with £3.5m in the previous 10 months.
The group put the performance down to exceptional charges of £22.6m, including a £20m goodwill writedown, and rising costs. Ignoring this, it reported a three per cent rise in sales to £31.7m for the year to last August.
The group's value, believed to have been £34m in 2007, has been eroded. Total assets of £13.7m compare with liabilities of £39.6m, according to The Telegraph.
Phoenix Equity Partners, which bought a stake in Abel & Cole in October 2007, and the company's founder Keith Abel, were forced to give up parts of their stakes in the business after Lloyds Banking Group pushed through a debt-for-equity swap at the end of February.
The group has reportedly been working to find "a financing structure better suited to the current level of trading", according to finance director Ted Bell.
Abel became the group’s third chief executive in seven months when he rejoined the organisation in a move Bell said had boosted investor confidence.
