Real Crisps

The insurance surplus resulted in £10m profits boost

An insurance payout after a devastating factory fire has given a multimillion pound boost to the company behind Golden Wonder and Real Crisps.

Manderley Food, the parent company of Tayto, was the victim of an arson attack at its Real Crisps factory in Crumlin, South Wales, in September 2012.

However, the company was insured and accounts filed at Companies House last week showed pre-tax profit rose by £12.2m to £13.36m in the year ending 29 June 2013, largely thanks to a successful insurance claim.

The snacks group recorded an exceptional credit of £10m, which was the surplus of the insurance proceeds over and above the book value of the assets lost in the fire and the initial cost of restructuring the group’s manufacturing.

The insurance monies would also be offset against future capital investments and costs associated with the permanent re-establishment of production of Real Crisps, said a company spokeswoman.

“It has taken a lot of time, resource and cost to assess our options following the fire and to develop a viable long-term strategy that will not just secure the company but also assist with growth,” she said. “We are currently engaged in a substantial investment programme across all sites.”

Manderley wanted to rebuild near the old factory in Wales but was unable to find a suitable site in a reasonable timeframe. As a result, 102 employees were made redundant and production was shared across other factories. The vast majority of Real Crisps production was moved to Manderley’s factory in Corby.

Despite the disruption, the company grew full-year sales by 5% to 166.04m and EBITDA by 13% to £11.2m - helped by the continued recovery of Golden Wonder.