A long-established Scottish food distribution business supplying fish and chip shops across the country has collapsed into administration after almost 25 years, with all five employees made redundant as a sustained downturn in trading took its toll.
Jon Dow Distribution, based in Forfar, Angus, had built a customer network spanning seven delivery routes, serving businesses in Inverness, Elgin, Fraserburgh, Aberdeen, Montrose, Dundee, Fife and Perth.
The company, owned by Colin Muir and Joan Muir, was incorporated in 2002 as J.D.R.B Ltd and became a recognised supplier to fish and chip shops, providing a broad range of frozen food products and catering essentials.
Its product range included black and white puddings, pies, burgers, fish fillets, ribs and pizzas, alongside cooking oils, batter mixes and sauces used by catering businesses.
But after experiencing a prolonged decline in business, the distributor has been unable to continue trading, bringing an end to a company that had served Scotland’s hospitality trade for nearly a quarter of a century.
All five employees have lost their jobs, a development the directors described as being undertaken “with regret”, according to The Courier.
Geoff Jacobs and Alistair McAlinden of restructuring firm Interpath were appointed joint liquidators on October 26 and will oversee the company’s winding-up process.
Their immediate responsibilities include identifying and marketing the business’s remaining assets for sale, including four delivery vehicles that formed part of its distribution operation.
The collapse also leaves creditors uncertain about money owed by the company. Interpath said they would be contacted over the coming weeks with information about the liquidation and the process for submitting claims.
Workers affected by the closure are being supported with applications to the UK Government’s insolvency support scheme, which provides assistance to employees whose employers become insolvent.
An Interpath spokesperson confirmed that the joint liquidators were helping former staff navigate the claims process.
The administration brings to an end almost 25 years of trading for a regional supplier whose delivery network connected food distributors with independent catering businesses across Scotland. For its five employees and the creditors awaiting payment, the collapse marks the immediate consequences of the company’s prolonged trading difficulties.
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