Choppy times for failed fish business
A long-running Manawatu¯ seafood wholesaler has been pulled under by high overheads after four decades in business.
Ocean Fisheries, based in Palmerston North, has supplied fish and seafood to high-profile Manawatu¯ restaurants and hotels for 40 years. But the owners, Cecil and Maureen Williams, who took over in 2012, have had to go into liquidation after falling more than $200,000 in debt
The first liquidation report from Hamish Pryde and Brent Dickins, of accountancy firm Coombe Smith, found that despite attempts to improve the business, there was not enough money coming in to cover the company’s costs.
The liquidators’ first step was to sell off $15,000 worth of stock and close down its Lombard St processing plant and retail store, while they sought to sell the company. It was not clear how many staff would be affected as the liquidators refused to speak on the matter and neither Cecil nor Maureen Williams could not be reached for comment.
Ocean Fisheries was at least $210,000 in debt when it went into liquidation, including $190,000 owed to suppliers and $20,000 in unsecured loans. On top of that, Ocean Fisheries owed an undisclosed amount to five secured creditors, including Talleys Group, Bidfood Palmerston North and Canon Finance. The liquidators had not yet confirmed that figure at the time of the report, Pryde said.
The sale of the Lombard St plant and its equipment will go towards paying off the secured creditors and as much of the remaining debt as possible.
ABC Business broker Kim Struthers said there had been some interest from buyers, but no deals had been landed yet.