UK-based vertical farmer Jones Food Company has entered administration.
The business, which was set up in 2017 and secured backing from Ocado two years later, has ceased production. It has appointed RSM UK as administrator.
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Jones Food confirmed it is looking to sell its assets but said it is “unable to comment on whether there are any interested buyers at this stage”.
According to a statement sent to Just Food by RSM UK, the agri-food company’s 61 employees have been made redundant but a “core team of 11” are still employed, helping the administrators in maintaining the site and managing potential buyers.
Damian Webb, a partner at London-based RSM UK, said: “The company has built a state-of-the-art vertical farming facility with a highly skilled workforce. There is a great opportunity for a purchaser to build on the investment to date to take the business forward.”
Gloucestershire-based Jones Food built indoor, hydroponic farms to grow fresh produce in a controlled environment.
According to the company’s website, at one point it delivered 3,000kg of herbs each week to UK customers.
The business said its fully automated farms were able to grow 100 times more yield per m2 compared to traditional land, while reducing operational costs, using renewable electricity and processing 90% less water.
It has two farms. JCF1 in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, opened in 2018 and a second in Chepstow in Gloucestershire was launched last year. Across the sites, Jones Food Company supplied private-label products and produce under two brands: Homegrown and Leaf. The business also has an innovation centre in Bristol.
Last month, US-based Plenty Unlimited filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to keep its business afloat as it restructures operations.
The California-headquartered company filed for bankruptcy in the Southern District of Texas court as it sought to “restructure its liabilities, streamline operations and focus its go-forward operations”.
In a statement on 23 March, Plenty said it has also received a “commitment” for debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing of $20.7m.
