Jobs saved as Sheffield gluten-free food firm Delicious Alchemy is sold by administrators

Kris Wigfield, Jo Hammond and Andrew Mackenzie, of business recovery specialist Begbies Traynor, were appointed as joint administrators of Delicious Alchemy Ltd on May 18.

A sale of the business and assets has now been completed.

Founded in 2006, the Sheffield business based on Atlas Way, Attercliffe, produced both branded and own-label allergen-free breakfast cereals and baking mixes for the major supermarkets.

It also sells gluten-free products on its website, www.deliciousalchemy.com, which has advice for customers on issues around living gluten-free.

A spokesperson for Begbies Traynor said: “Having expanded Delicious Alchemy with customer demand leading to the opening of a dedicated factory, unfortunately, the director was forced to take two years out of the business due to illness.

“During that time, the company lost market share in its brand and became more dependent on own label.

“After losing a key own-label contract, its revenue fell and this was exacerbated by the impact of the pandemic with rising costs of ingredients and packaging, social distancing measures and distribution challenges.”

The business was unable to meet its ongoing liabilities and sought insolvency advice from Begbies Traynor, working with specialist asset advisers, Eddisons, also part of Begbies Traynor Group.

After a period of marketing the business via Eddisons, a pre-packaged sale to Client Management Ltd (CML) was completed on May 19.

The business is continuing to trade and all 25 jobs have been transferred to the buyer.

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