The former Kingdom Bakers in Kirkcaldy is in operation again under a new name.
St Andrews Bakers has taken over the premises at Mitchelston Industrial Estate after Kingdom Bakers collapsed amid financial problems at the end of January. The firm owed Fife Council £93,000 in non-domestic rent arrears.
The new operator, St Andrews Bakers, registered with Companies House at the start of last month and The Courier understands the financial director of Kingdom is managing the new firm.
However, The Courier was unable to contact anyone at St Andrews Bakers for comment and Fife Council was also in the dark about what was going on at the premises.
George Sneddon, Fife Council service manager for enterprise, planning and protective services, said: ”Fife Council has still not heard anything officially regarding the takeover of the company from the administrators nor the company itself.”
Kirkcaldy MSP David Torrance said he had been greeted with a ”wall of silence” when he had tried to contact St Andrews Bakers.
He said: ”As an MSP for the local area, it would be nice to get clarification about what’s happening with the bakery, where the workforce stands and the contact they have with suppliers locally, because at the end of the day jobs are badly needed.
”We have to know if the future of the company is secure in the long term. As it is just now, everybody is left wondering and waiting to find out what is really happening.”
Kingdom Bakers supplied bread and cakes to supermarkets including Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons. Leaving 135 workers facing redundancy, the loss of the bakery was a savage jobs blow for Kirkcaldy.
RSM Tenon were called in as receivers when the company, which had a second facility in Dysart, hit problems after 28 years of trading.
Kingdom Bakers was four months overdue with its 2010 accounts when it collapsed, and the accounts for 2009 painted a picture of a business in decline, with profits slumping by a total of £144,000 in the full year’s trading.
Council leader Peter Grant said council officers had tried for months to get the firm to accept support to help it survive after a lengthy period of exceptionally difficult trading results.
It is understood some foreign workers at the bakery who were employed by an agency have claimed they are still owed wages.
When contacted by The Courier, RSM Tenon advised that all inquiries should be directed to the new owners.