Almost 100 jobs lost as Shropshire fruit supplier Jupiter Marketing collapses
Almost 100 jobs have been lost after a Shropshire food imports and exports business collapsed as a result of soaring inflation.
Global fruit grower and distributor Jupiter Marketing, based in Newport, has filed for administration.
Tim Bateson and Chris Pole from insolvency firm Interpath Advisory have been appointed as joint administrators of the firm.
With subsidiary operations in Chile, Europe and South Africa, the company supplied a number of UK supermarkets.
Following a recent refinance, Jupiter faced a challenging commercial period with cost inflation in all its operating regions, as well as dramatic rises in shipping costs and localised supply chain challenges, according to administrators.
The majority of the company’s 85 staff were made redundant following the appointment of Interpath, with a small number retained to assist the administrators.
“Unfortunately, following new investment in March this year, the business has faced a number of geopolitical and economic challenges, which has ultimately led to its downfall,” Mr Bateson said.
“Our immediate priority is to support all employees affected by redundancy with the information they require to make claims from the Redundancy Payments Office.”
Jupiter Marketing expanded rapidly from a fresh produce supplier to grower, with farms stretching across four continents. It supplies grapes, citrus fruit, pineapple, kiwi and avocados, as well as making prepared fruit snacking pots at its custom UK packing house, alongside co-branded products such as Babybel light cheese, apple and grapes snack packs.
