Distraught sisters hit out as administrators shut bakery

THREE sisters who collectively clocked up almost 60 years' experience at an East Lothian bakery have been left devastated after finding out their jobs have gone with the firm going bust.

Barbara MacLeod, Jacqueline McNaughton and Fay MacLeod were among around 30 workers who were told they no longer had a job at Fords Bakery in Prestonpans after it went into liquidation on Sunday.

The bakery and confectionery producer, which had an annual turnover of 5 million, supplied supermarkets, food service companies and independent bakeries in East and Central Scotland.

Fords Bakery Ltd went into administration in June last year. Shortly after, KPMG Restructuring sold the business and certain assets to Scullions Wholesale Bakery Limited - a subsidiary of the McGhee Group - which secured the jobs of 87 employees.

Scullions Wholesale Bakery Limited continued to trade under the name Fords Bakery but yesterday Scullions announced that it was no longer viable to continue the operation.

Angry workers hit out at the company for failing to inform them of the news sooner. They say workers turned up for work over the weekend to find the locks had been changed and the building, which was being manned by security guards, in the process of being stripped of its assets.

Barbara MacLeod, 48, who lives in Prestonpans and has worked at the factory on Mid Road for 20 years, said: "I'm gutted, especially because they must have known this was going to happen.

"They let everybody go home after work on Friday, knowing the place was going to be emptied on Friday night. I just think it's a disgrace. People were arriving at work on Saturday to find the locks were all changed."

The production supervisor added: "Fords Bakery has been going for years. That's the end of an era."

Workers attended a meeting with liquidator Thomas Hughes of Gerber Landa & Gee chartered accountants in Glasgow yesterday morning, during which they were told the business could no longer continue.

A total of 25 staff have been redeployed to a "new operational base" in Newbridge.

A member of senior management, who didn't want to be named, said several staff were also made redundant around six weeks ago.

He added: "Some of the staff have been working there for 20 years and now they're gone."

Miss MacLeod's sister, Fay MacLeod, 55, was the longest-serving bakery employee of the three siblings, having worked at the bakery for 22 years.

The third sister, Jacqueline McNaughton, 50, has worked at the factory on and off for around 14 years.

As her husband is disabled and unable to work, the couple were living on just a single wage.

A spokesman for Scullions Wholesale Bakery Limited said: "Unfortunately, and despite considerable efforts, the business continues to show trading losses. It has therefore been concluded that the current operation is no longer viable.