Strawberry grower Peter Wensak has expressed confidence that his business will get back on its feet after being placed into administration.
Wensak’s Polehouse Nurseries entered into a company voluntary agreement with its creditors on April 30, but after being unable to meet subsequent liabilities was put into administration at the end of last month.
Wensak - long recognised as one of the soft-fruit industry’s pioneers - told Commercial Grower that a poor 2006 had put the company under pressure, with a shortage of seasonal labour adding to the problems.
However the major factor in the firm’s difficulties came when he was forced to switch banks away from the High Street, with the new bank failing to provide promised funding.
Staff at Polehouse, which is now trading under the name Phoenix Berry Farms, were all made redundant when the firm entered administration, but the majority have since been re-employed, with the firm operating under a temporary licence to allow the crop to still be harvested.
Wensak said that he and his wife had allowed seasonal staff to remain rent-free on the site, and that the full time staff had been extremely supportive during the difficult period.
He added that his retail customers, Sainsbury’s and M&S, have been ‘fantastic’ in their support of the company during this period. The business is currently not operating it glasshouses, but hopes to produce a half crop if possible from tunnels this season.
Simon Rowe, for the administrators Milsted Langdon, said that there have been ‘lots of expressions of interest’ in the business, and was confident that a resolution could be found within the licence period, which currently runs until November 1. The firm is hoping to sell the Polehouse business as a going concern.
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