Hotdog firm acquired out of administration

Following its administration late last year, hotdog manufacturer Westler Foods has been acquired by a new company.

The Malton, Yorkshire-based business - which produced food products in canned and pouched form for brands including Chesswood, BigMex, Westlers and Multi Menu - originally fell into administration due to a funding gap linked to its pension scheme.

Howard Smith and Mark Firmin of KPMG's restructuring practice were appointed as joint administrators and said at the time that they would seek a suitable buyer for the firm.

Smith said, “The company has a number of extremely interesting contracts so we are trading the business as a going concern while seeking a buyer.”

Now, KPMG has confirmed that a buyer has been found and 162 jobs have been saved at Westler Foods as a result.

A spokesperson for KPMG said, “I can confirm that Westler Foods has been taken over by a newly formed company With Comb and is backed by private equity firm RCapital. A number of the former company’s directors will be part of the new management team.”

Westlers was established in 1960 in Hull by brothers-in-law Alick Burdon-Cooper and Charles Breese along with Donald Watson. It supplies the retail and foodservice sectors as well as the military.