A long-established UK food wholesaler that supplied products to Morrisons, Co-op and other retailers has entered liquidation with debts exceeding £5 million, resulting in the loss of 71 jobs.
The company was founded in the mid-1990s as Food From Scotland Ltd, focusing on supplying independent retailers across Scotland. It later expanded nationwide and rebranded as Enterprise Foods Ltd in 2001 before adopting the name Localist – The Food Merchant in 2025.
Less than a year after its latest rebrand, the business has ceased trading and appointed a liquidator to oversee its closure and settle outstanding debts.
George Lafferty of advisory firm BTG has been tasked with winding up the company’s affairs, while efforts continue to assess claims from creditors.
Despite attempts by directors to rescue the business, restructuring efforts ultimately failed.
Thomas McKay, managing partner at BTG in Scotland and Northern Ireland, said job losses were “sadly inevitable” after attempts to refinance the company proved unsuccessful.
“There are many small suppliers to the business that are owed money, and the loss of this route to market will also have a serious knock-on effect on these food producers as well,” he said.
McKay also warned that unsecured creditors were unlikely to recover significant sums due to the scale of secured debts.
“We are working to assess all claims and establish whether there will be any dividend paid to unsecured creditors, but it is not likely to be significant, given the level of secured debts in the business,” he added.
Co-op sourced a number of local food products through Localist and moved quickly to secure alternative supply arrangements following the company’s collapse in March.
The retailer began placing orders directly with suppliers to prevent disruption to stock levels while considering longer-term agreements.
A Co-op spokesperson said: “As a community retailer Co-op takes great pride in offering local products in our stores and in backing Britain’s producers.”
The spokesperson added: “Following the unexpected news of Enterprise Food Ltd (EF) entering liquidation in March, as one of EF’s customers, Co-op believed it was right to act quickly and provide support and reassurance to the local, often smaller-scale, businesses affected.”
“We are delighted that we have now reached agreements for almost all of the individual small suppliers to continue to supply Co-op directly.”
The collapse raises concerns for smaller food producers who relied on the wholesaler as a key route to market and could face significant financial challenges as a result.