Holmesterne Foods enters administration with 130 jobs at risk
Long-established North Yorkshire meat supplier Holmesterne Foods has entered administration. Joint administrators from Interpath have been appointed.
Information for general guidance, drawn from the public record. Not legal, financial, or insolvency advice. If you are affected by an insolvency, consult a licensed practitioner or qualified solicitor.
North Yorkshire meat supplier Holmesterne Foods has entered administration. Reports indicate that most of its 130 staff members have been made redundant. The company, registered as Holmesterne Farm Co. Limited, appointed joint administrators on 11 May 2026. The appointment was sealed by the High Court of Justice Business and Property Courts in Leeds.
The business traded as Holmesterne Foods for nearly 40 years. Its main trading address was Gatherley Road Industrial Estate, Brompton On Swale, Richmond, North Yorkshire. The company's SIC codes show it was involved in the processing and wholesale of meat products.
James Clark and Howard Smith of Interpath are the joint administrators. Interpath is an insolvency firm. Clark and Smith are now the officers in charge of the company's affairs.
Keith Philip Tindell was a director when the administration notice was filed. Stephen Anthony Roth Clark and David James Kempely resigned as directors on 11 May 2026. This was the same day the administrators took over.
Close Brothers Limited is a secured creditor. The lender holds an outstanding registered charge that was delivered on 2 September 2022 and created on 1 September 2022.
For suppliers and customers
Licensed insolvency practitioners take control of a company when it enters administration. These administrators manage the business, property, and assets. Their goal is to rescue the business, get a better result for creditors than a liquidation would provide, or sell assets to pay secured or preferential creditors.
Creditors must send a formal claim to the administrators. This document is a proof of debt and it shows exactly how much the company owes. All correspondence and claims go through the administrators at their firm's contact address.
A moratorium under Schedule B1 of the Insolvency Act 1986 starts when administration begins. This is a legal pause. It stops most creditors from starting legal action or enforcement against the company unless a court gives permission. This gives the administrators time to look at the business.
Customers who paid for goods they did not receive are usually unsecured creditors. Their claims are grouped with other unsecured debts. Claims from employees for wages, notice pay, and redundancy usually have priority. The Redundancy Payments Service helps staff recover some unpaid wages and redundancy money.
Common questions
Are you owed money by Holmesterne Farm Co. Limited?
You are an unsecured creditor unless you hold a registered charge or retention of title. The administrators will write to known creditors in due course with a proof-of-debt form and timetable for the first meeting. Until that letter arrives, no formal action is required from you. Read more about proof of debt and where you sit in the creditor hierarchy.
Did you work at Holmesterne Farm Co. Limited?
Wages owed up to a statutory cap, holiday pay, notice pay and redundancy may be claimable from the Redundancy Payments Service if the company is unable to pay. The administrators will normally coordinate the RP1 claim with the affected staff. See gov.uk: your rights if your employer is insolvent.
Do you hold a deposit, gift card or undelivered order from Holmesterne Farm Co. Limited?
Customers with paid-but-undelivered orders, gift cards or deposits typically rank as unsecured creditors. Where you paid by credit card and the amount was over £100, Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 may let you claim from the card issuer for breach of contract or misrepresentation by the supplier; the rules apply per item, not per transaction, and the card must be a regulated credit card. Debit-card payments may be recoverable via chargeback.
Are you a director of a company connected to Holmesterne Farm Co. Limited?
Watch for Section 216 of the Insolvency Act 1986 if you intend to keep trading under a similar name in a successor company. The rule prohibits a director of a liquidated company from being involved in another company using the same or a similar name for five years, unless one of the statutory exceptions applies. Read more about Section 216.
Sources
- The London Gazette notice (code Appointment of Administrators)
- Companies House record 02058445
- Court: High Court of Justice Business and Property Courts in Leeds Insolvency and Companies List (ChD), case CR-2026-LDS-000500.
- Editorial standards: how we source and review; five-pass pipeline.
