Family-owned cake business with $7 million in turnover collapses

Family-owned cake supplier Terry’s Tortes and Treats with turnover of $7 million has collapsed, with administrators seeking a buyer or investor.

The Melbourne-based business was launched in 2007 and manufactures and distributes cakes, pastries, tarts, slices and wedding cakes to the hospitality industry.

It has a manufacturing facility in Coburg North, with HACCO-approved equipment. It promotes on its website that it specialises in gluten free, allergen free and Halal friendly dessert options.

The business began with a small shopfront in Melbourne’s inner suburbs and grew to be a major supplier of portion-controlled cakes with more than 40 flavour varieties on offer.

Administrators Ross Blakeley and Matt Adams of FTI Consulting were appointed to the company on March 19, 2014, with the first meeting for creditors to be held on March 31 in Melbourne.

Blakeley told SmartCompany this morning the business was currently still trading and that “all staff are still employed”.

He says there were a few reasons which led to the administration, including the fast growth of the business in recent years.

Blakeley says the company made a few “strategic decisions which the directors would acknowledge haven’t worked out as they hoped”.

He declined to reveal the level of debt ahead of the creditors meeting, but says there are a number of different stakeholders to address.

Blakeley says he is “confident of a viable business there”, which a potential buyer or investor could develop.

The company launched a Facebook page in August 2013, with 145 ‘likes’. Some comments on the page included one from Facebook user Dianne, who said: “Fantastic service & support by terry (sic) and staff for Biscottini cafe. Thank you for your professionalism and fabulous product.”

Another user said the company produced, “The BEST gingerbread men on the planet!!!”

The collapse of Terry’s Tortes and Treats is one of a series of food manufacturing businesses that have gone under in recent times, with Windsor Farm Foods Group facing administration in 2013, despite a turnover of $27 million, and yoghurt producer Tamar Valley collapsing in late 2013 before being rescued by dairy giant Fonterra.