Grimsby, United Kingdom-based Cook & Lucas Frozen has entered into administration after the company abruptly closed its plant on 10 January, 2023.
The company, which imported and processed seafood and whitefish, closed the plant and laid off 80 workers with little warning, according to Interpath Advisory – the joint administrators appointed in the wake of the closures.
The closures came despite the company weathering the Covid-19 pandemic well – according to public filings, the company managed to achieve a gross profit of GBP 24 million (USD 29 million, EUR 27 million) and a net profit of GBP 1.4 million (USD 1.7 million, EUR 1.5 million) in the period spanning April 2020 to April 2021 – the height of the pandemic. The company attributed the success to “keeping the company open” as long as possible when other merchants closed.
“Whilst revenue decreased due to certain sectors closing at various points throughout the year, the gross profit margin percentage increased,” the company’s directors said.
Despite that success, the company is now under the administration of James Clark and Howard Smith from Interpath Advisory.
“Given the circumstances surrounding our appointment, our immediate priority is to take steps to secure the company’s assets, while seeking to gather further information about the company’s financial position,” the administrators said.
The company was launched in 2016, and supplied restaurants, fish and chip shops, wholesalers, retailers, fishmongers, and more.
“It is always sad, because there are always victims, particularly the staff,” Grimsby Fish Dock Enterprises Chief Executive Martyn Boyers told the Grimsby Telegraph. “It was a big company. It brought a lot of fish in from Iceland, Denmark, the Faroes, and Norway. There will undoubtedly have been issues for suppliers as a result.”
