How was Buffalo Farm owner able to ‘continue as if nothing happened’ after Fife firm went bust?

When Fife’s Buffalo Farm went bust in March, director Steven Mitchell had already founded a new company with a similar name.

The Buffalo Farm Ltd went into administration and has subsequently been renamed TBF Realisations.

And from the ashes rose The Buffalo Farm Produce Ltd, which continues to trade from the same location in Bogliliy, Kirkcaldy and use the same branding, albeit as the new entity.

All 59 jobs were saved, Mr Mitchell said, while the herd could be preserved, avoiding unsettling it with a move or having to cull them.

But how was a business owner, whose company was due more than £3 million to creditors and owed more than £537,000 to the taxman, able to do this?

Green pastures turn sour

The Buffalo Farm launched in 2004, mainly as a farm and butchery. First as Foodfile Ltd, then Puddledub Buffalo before taking on its most well-known moniker.

Mr Mitchell sold buffalo meat and burgers at farmers markets across Scotland, before Gordon Ramsay came calling with his show The F-Word.

The pair created a trial batch of buffalo mozzarella which the sweary-chef declared delicious.

Several highs and lows followed, including the backing-out of an investor, before diversification into the cheese market in 2018.

This happened, in part, thanks to a crowdfunding programme and a grant of more than half-a-million from the Scottish Government.

But there were issues with the herd. Their milk supply was described as “poor” and a bout of bovine TB led to several buffalo being destroyed.

In 2020 the pandemic struck, but an uptick in people “buying local” was noted. This came to an end as life got back to normal and shoppers started flocking back to supermarkets.

The last days of the original Buffalo Farm

In March 2024, struggling for cash and unable to pay its bills, the firm was put into administration.

And on March 11, a “pre-pack” sale was arranged by FRP Advisory.

A “pre-pack” sale is an arrangement where the sale of all or part of a company’s business or assets is negotiated with a purchaser prior to the appointment of the administrator.

The buyer in this case was Mr Mitchell. His new company, The Buffalo Farm Produce, was incorporated on February 13.

Mr Mitchell had been introduced to FRP Advisory by The Buffalo Farm’s accountants, EQ, in June 2023 to discuss the firm’s financial difficulties.

He continued attempts to secure external investment. These talks broke down by the end of 2023.

HMRC then served The Buffalo Farm a statutory notice and pressure from other creditors started to build.

Despite speaking with FRP in June 2023, no further discussions were held between them and Mr Mitchell until January 2024, when they were brought in to look at the books.

Trying to sell The Buffalo Farm

FRP, the firm charged with carrying out the administration process, said they approached 358 parties who might be interested in buying the business.

It was not publicly advertised, and the marketing process went live on February 14.

Only one offer was received, from The Buffalo Farm Produce. The sole director is Steven Mitchell.

This was accepted, administrators say, for three reasons:

1. The costs involved with the sale were significantly lower than the costs involved in the event of insolvency.
2. The buffalo herd would have had no value in the event of insolvency, leading to financial and ethical costs in the event of having to cull them.
3. 59 jobs would be preserved, removing redundancy payment claims, wage arrears payments, holiday and redundancy pay of around £64,000.

This is all within the law.

The Founders

Individual investors ploughed anywhere from £1,000-£10,000 following a crowdfunding push, which saw them dubbed “founders” entitled to monthly credit and offers.

They have been told not to expect a penny back.

Many of them have been left angry at what happened, while Mr Mitchell insists others remain supportive.

He claims there has been a “minority” who have encouraged other businesses to cut ties with The Buffalo Farm Produce. Supermarket Aldi and Blacketyside have done just that.

Mr Mitchell says he “doesn’t blame them for trying to protect their reputations” but said it was due to “founders’ pressure encouraging them to disassociate”.

The director did write to the founders, in a letter shared with The Courier.

In the weeks and months after they lost their investments, many have vented their frustration and accused Mr Mitchell of “continuing as if nothing happened”.

Responding to FRP Advisory’s report into the process, Mr Mitchell said: “We are working hard to try and salvage a business from this terrible situation and preserve the jobs and the herd.

“We are still a long way from having a sustainable future and this has been significantly impacted by a minority, but significant number of our founders want to ensure that we don’t recover.”