NORFROST, the Caithness freezer firm owned and run by one of Scotland’s wealthiest couples, has called in the administrators and laid off half its workforce.
The company, the UK’s only manufacturer of chest freezers, borrowed £1.2 million a year ago from Caithness and Sutherland Enterprise to stay in business, but Blair Nimmo of KPMG Corporate Recovery said yesterday that debts had spiralled out of control and that Norfrost’s lack of cashflow meant a complete overhaul of the business was now needed to save it.
Norfrost is one of the largest employers in the North-east of Scotland. It was started 32 years ago by Pat and Alex Grant. Its growth confounded sceptics in the late 1990s and turned the Grants into one of Scotland’s richest couples.
It manufactures under the brand names of Norfrost and Aura, as well as for numerous household names. It also makes coolers for Coca-Cola and Mars.
At one point it was churning out 12,500 chest freezers a week and was planning an Unlisted Securities Market flotation.
But in recent years the firm’s performance has been hit by the strong pound, the growing cost of oil, cheaper imported goods and the poor retail sector performance.