Typhoo Tea, the Bristol-based company, collapsed into administration owing around £100m to its creditors before being rescued, it has been disclosed. The firm entered administration in November 2024 and was subsequently bought in a £10m deal the following month.
A recent document filed with Companies House by Kroll reveals the extent of Typhoo Tea’s debt to its creditors and the circumstances leading to its administration. According to Kroll, Typhoo Tea owed over £65.5m to Karalius at the time of their appointment, while other non-preferential unsecured creditors were owed more than £7.3m, as reported by City AM.
Axis was also owed in excess of £19.1m, with an interim distribution of £7.2m having since been paid. Kroll noted that there are estimated preferential claims of just under £30,000, with HMRC also owed a similar amount.
In its report, Kroll stated: “The company had experienced a sharp decline in revenue and profitability over recent years. In FY23 and FY24 it experienced significant exceptional costs relating to a restructuring of the business and a trespassing incident.”
It added that the company was unable to secure further funding and its working capital was exhausted, resulting in severe liquidity issues. Kroll indicated that there will not be sufficient funds to repay Axis in full, although preferential creditors are expected to be paid in full.
The firm also noted that non-preferential creditors are not expected to receive full payment.
Typhoo Tea was salvaged from administration by the Manchester-based company Supreme, which is listed on AIM at the London Stock Exchange, in a deal valued at £10.2m last month. A statement from Supreme at the time highlighted that the acquisition includes Typhoo Tea’s stock and trade debtors, with a book value of £7.5m, and pointed out an expectation for the integration of the business into existing operations to “proceed without disruption to existing operations or customer service levels”.
For the year up to 30 September, 2024, Typhoo Tea has reported unaudited revenue of about £20m and a pre-tax loss close to £4.6m. In comparison, for the year ending September 2023, the tea company’s revenue was at £25.3m with a pre-tax loss of £37.9m.
Previously, in July 2021, Zetland Capital Partners had taken over Typhoo Tea.