Wilson’s, a 102-year-old chocolate maker and one of the original manufacturers of Kendal Mint Cake, has been acquired out of administration, saving all 121 jobs.
John Carpenter and Ben Barrett of insolvency specialist Dow Schofield Watts Business Recovery were appointed as joint administrators of JE Wilson & Sons (Kendal) Ltd on 22 May.
The pair sold the business and assets on the same day to a new company set up by managing director Andrew Wilson, the grandson of the founder. The deal was part-funded by invoice finance firm Bibby Financial Services, following a marketing process run by DSW.
Wilson’s was established in 1913 in Kendal and has been owned and run by the Wilson family for four generations. It has expanded rapidly in the past 25 years, diversifying into specialty chocolate manufacturing for high street retail customers.
A costly relocation away from Kendal to a modern purpose-built 40,000 sq ft factory in Holme in 2013 resulted in the financial uncertainty which, ultimately, led to the appointed of DSW, according to joint administrator John Carpenter. The new site boosted capacity dramatically, with the company manufacturing more than two million chocolates a week over five production lines.
“I’m delighted to have preserved the future of a third-generation family firm,” Andrew Wilson said. “Our new partners have exceptional experience in the food industry, and have made a huge success of all that they do. We can learn a lot from them as our business develops.”
Carpenter added: “We are pleased to have successfully concluded a sale of this long-standing business after what has been a difficult time for the company’s management and its workforce.”
The rescue deal – with DSW advised by Turner Parkinson Solicitors, Wilsons by Oglethorpe Storton & Gillibrand and Bibby by Bermans Solicitors – were preserved the jobs of 66 full-time and 55 seasonal staff at Wilson’s.
Chris Farnworth, corporate manager at Bibby Financial Services, said: “Wilsons is a fantastic family-run business with a long history. We saw that this business needed help to get it through a difficult transitional period and recognised the raft of customers who relied upon its supply of the very best chocolates.”
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