The tea company filed a notice on Wednesday that it had appointed administrators after two weeks of efforts to find creditors to pay back its debts
The iconic British tea company Typhoo has crashed into administration as its rescue deal hangs in the balance.
The company – which is one of the UK’s oldest tea companies – filed a notice on Wednesday that it had appointed administrators after two weeks of efforts to find creditors to pay back its debts. The risk and financial advisory company Kroll have been appointed. The move puts over 100 jobs at risk.
In a statement today, it said: “The company has experienced significant cash flow constraints as a result of supply chain disruptions and subsequent service issues. The company has been exploring a sale of the business and assets, which is in the process of concluding. The administration process provides Typhoo Tea with protection, allowing the Joint Administrators to finalise the sale in order to rescue the business.”
The company was founded in 1903 by Birmingham grocer John Sumner and was once one of the UK’s best-selling tea brands. However, revenues have declined over the last few years as more Brits opt for coffee instead. As Typhoo looks for a buyer, it will continue to trade, so it won’t be disappearing from supermarket shelves any time soon.
Typhoo became known for its classic slogan of “you only get an oo with Typhoo” and celebrity campaigns which featured Nigella Lawson, Ben Fogle, and the late Cilla Black.
Typhoo’s latest company filings showed that it made a £38 million loss last year, while sales fell by a quarter to £25.3 million. It had 116 employees as of late 2023. In the same year, Typhoo suffered a further blow when trespassers broke into the company’s former factory in Merseyside and occupied the site for several days. At the time, the company said the break-in caused “extensive damage” and made the site “inaccessible.”
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The brand said it was forced to swallow £24million of exceptional costs in the 2023 financial year, with a significant portion of that related to the damage. The company had been trying to sell the factory, a deal that eventually went through in June 2024. Typhoo’s debts stood at £73million at the end of September 2023, compared to £53million a year earlier.
Since 2021, private equity firm Zetland Capital has been its majority shareholder. It hired the former head of Burts crisps, Dave McNulty, as its new chief executive in October, while also launching a shake-up of its supply chain. The overhaul was intended to stop sexual violence against women working on tea plantations in east Africa, and resulted in reducing the number of plantations in its supply chain in the region from 300 to just three.
