British Honey Co enters administration
Two Birds owner The British Honey Company has appointed administrators and is in the process of winding down the business.
Simon Stibbons and Geoffrey Rowley of FRP Advisory were appointed as joint administrators for UK-based The British Honey Co on 25 April 2023 and its Leicestershire-based subsidiary, Union Distillers, on 21 April 2023.
The British Honey Co purchased Union Distillers, producer of Two Birds spirits, for £8 million (US$11.2m) in February 2021. The British Honey Co also owns Dodd’s Gin.
The administrators aim to wind down operations by mid-May 2023, which will make all employees redundant.
The English spirits company first announced it would bring in administrators in March 2023 after the firm failed to secure further funding.
FRP said Union Distillers could no longer meet ‘financial obligations’ and entered administration after a decline in sales and the end of key customer contracts.
A sale process was undertaken, however the company failed to receive any offers, the FRP said.
Stibbons, partner at FRP, said: “Union Distillers had been trading since 2012 and introduced a new simplified business model to drive sales through more bespoke and no-alcohol brands.
“However, changes to some of its key client contracts resulted in a decrease in sales and, without sufficient working capital, Union could no longer trade.
“We’d encourage any interested parties to come forward and speak to us. We will continue to work with the impacted staff to make sure they access the appropriate support through the Redundancy Payments Service.”
The Spirits Business has approached The British Honey Co for further comment.
In January 2020, the firm acquired Dodd’s Gin owner The London Distillery Company for an undisclosed sum.
Last year, The British Honey Co closed its Worminghall distillery and moved production to its Union Distillers site in Market Harborough, Leicestershire.
A trading update from the company in January 2023 said sales were impacted in the second half of 2022 due to the squeeze on the UK economy and ‘more pronounced’ consumer spending.
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