Farming News - Historic cheesemaking company Singleton's falls into administration
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Historic cheesemaking company Singleton's falls into administration
Singleton's, an 80-year-old family-run cheese company, which has a royal seal of approval has gone into administration after failing to find a buyer.
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The family have been dairy farming in Longridge since 1745.
The family run business, based on Preston Road, Longridge, near Preston have appointed Andrew Knowles and Steven Muncaster of Kroll as joint administrators.
Singletons & Co are a family run business have been handcrafting award winning cheeses for more than 80 years. They supply to retail and wholesale and export to over 30 countries.
Andrew Knowles senior director at Kroll,stated that: “Singletons has a long-established track record for its products. However, like many companies in this sector, it has had to manage the effects of Covid,the rising costs of milk and other additional overheads. The company had attempted to sell the business as a going concern prior to the appointment however this was unsuccessful.”
Singleton's range of products include Parlick pure sheep’s milk cheese and Beacon Fell Traditional Creamy Lancashire, Grandma Singleton’s Famously Strong Lancashire and Bowland Cheddar.
Another local cheesemaker Graham Kirkham who runs Mrs Kirkham's Lancashire Cheese in nearby Inglewhite said it was "unbelievable" as Singleton's had "just been there forever" but he echoed a hike in costs was impacting the industry.
"There has been a massive increase in production costs, particularly the farming sector," he said, citing the almost tripling costs of fertilizer and diesel involved in milk production which "have got to be passed on".
One former worker told the Lancashire Post that : “Singletons had a very good history, great cheese and it was a great company to work in. It’s a great loss to the family and a great loss to the whole community – it’s a bit of history that has unfortunately come to an end. I don’t think it will be forgotten. My sympathies go out to workers who have lost their jobs and also the family.”