FishWorks saved by factory boss
The boss of the 2 Sisters chicken factory in West Bromwich has stepped in to save 100 jobs and buy up four restaurants owned by the failed FishWorks seafood chain.
Entrepreneur Ranjit Boparan stepped in after the restaurant chain went into administration yesterday.
He has snapped up sites in Bath, Richmond in Surrey and two in London and said all employees would be retained, as will the FishWorks brand.
Mr Boparan said he bought the group "because we absolutely believe in the business and we believe in the brand".
"We're in this for the long-term and we're confident that our established expertise in tandem with the talents of the existing FishWorks team and the support of our loyal customers will turn the business around and give us a stable platform for continued future growth," he added.
Mr Boparan and his wife Baljinder are worth around £135 million after the success of their West Bromwich poultry businesses, best known for its Buxted chickens. Since founding the firm in 1993 they have seen it grow into a £650 million business with 5,500 employees at 13 sites in the UK, Holland and the US.
Last year the couple's 21-year-old son, Antonio, was jailed for 21 months for causing a crash in 2006 which left baby Cerys Edwards brain-damaged and in need of 24-hour care. Since the court case the couple have made a substantial cash gift to the child's family and Antonio has pledged to set up a trust fund for Cerys and other injured children.
Mr Boparan has bought the FishWorks business through his Sutton Coldfield-based Boparan Ventures company and has hired Marija Simovic, a 20-year veteran of the food industry, as the new chief executive of FishWorks.
But 90 jobs will also be lost after administrators at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) were unable to sell the remaining six FishWorks sites. PwC said all six – in Bristol, Christchurch and four London outlets in Chelsea, Islington, Fulham and Chiswick – had closed with immediate effect.
But Mike Jervis, joint administrator and partner at PwC, said the deal struck with Boparan will see the "preservation of over 90 jobs and a continuation of the brand".
PwC had approached 50 potential buyers and received five competitive bids, he added.
The existing FishWorks management team – led by chief executive Paul Goodale and finance director Stephen Easthope – were among the interested parties.
