More than five hundred Corby jobs go as Orchard House closes its doors

Orchard House in Corby has shut its doors today, with the potential loss of more than 500 permanent jobs and many more agency positions.

The firm, one of Corby’s biggest employers, had been fighting to stay open for the past week after beginning the legal process into administration.

It had been hoped that the five Corby factories – which have been in the town for nearly 40 years – could be saved.

But this morning (Wednesday, January 18) at 11.30am, Orchard House ceased trading hours after production staff had been denied entry to the factory.

Devastated workers were informed this afternoon that they will lose their jobs. Those on shift last night had been told not to come into work today, but some workers have said on social media that they had not been informed of the closure.

The company is one of Corby’s oldest firms and employs about 500 people in the town, plus an unknown number of agency workers.

Orchard House has not responded to a request for comment.

One member of staff contacted this newspaper to say: “I’ve worked there more than 10 years. People are wondering what they’re going to do now. We’re in the middle of a cost of living crisis.

"It’s absolutely terrifying. We’ll get statutory redundancy paid by the Government but that doesn’t reflect all the work we’ve put in over the years. It’s like losing a family.”

The firm was recruiting as recently as January 5 for production operatives.

Sarah O’Toole, Jon Roden and Kevin Coates of Grant Thornton UK LLP were appointed as joint administrators of Orchard House Foods Limited today (Wednesday, January 18).

Partner at Grant Thornton UK LLP and joint administrator Sarah O’Toole said: “Economic conditions have proved incredibly challenging for many businesses operating in this sector. Despite management’s best efforts to find a long-term solution for the business, challenging trading conditions have meant the difficult decision has been taken to appoint administrators.”

The administrators will be making contact with the former employees of the Orchard House Food’s Gateshead site to assist them in making the relevant claims with The Insolvency Service.

It has been confirmed that the ‘majority’ of the remaining employees have been made redundant and the administrators will be seeking offers for the business and assets of the company.