Administration offers opportunity to enter “rapidly growing” seaweed market
Wed, 28 Jun 2023 | ADMINISTRATION
Mara Seaweed, an award-winning Glenrothes-based seaweed business, has fallen into administration. The company, which sells wild harvested seaweed that it collects from the East Neuk of Fife, entered administration as a result of “severe” working capital issues.
The company was awarded £600,000 in funding from the Scottish government in 2021 to help it to scale up its operations. However, the withdrawal of funding for an expansion programme lead to the firm experiencing significant financial difficulties.
As a result, FRP Advisory partners Callum Carmichael and Chad Griffin were appointed as joint administrators and will now market the company’s brand and assets for sale.
Callum Carmichael commented: “Mara Seaweed had developed a very high profile and outstanding reputation within the food industry for its innovative approach to harvesting and for the quality of its products.”
Urging interested parties to contact FRP’s Edinburgh office, Carmichael added: “The administration provides an opportunity for a business operating in the food seasonings sector, or an entrepreneur keen to enter the rapidly growing seaweed seasonings business.”
The company was founded as Celtic Spice Company in 2011 before rebranding as Mara Seaweed two years later. The firm sustainably harvests its seaweed from a 20-mile stretch of coastline around the East Neuk of Fige under Crown Estate license. Seaweed collected by the company is processed into premium ingredients and seasonings at its Glenrothes facility within 24 hours of being harvested.
In its accounts for the year ending December 31 2021, the company’s fixed assets were valued at £1.7 million and current assets at close to £321,000, while net assets stood at £1.1 million.
Read about M&A in the seafood sector.
Read more about the importance of thorough due diligence when making acquisitions in a downturn.
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