Questions surface over Finest Food Products receivership

The company behind Kapiti Kitchen, The Goodness and Supreme was placed into receivership on January 10.

Questions are being asked as to why Finest Food Products Limited was placed in receivership amid an apparent falling out between directors.

Finest Food Products, which manufactures food and milkshake syrup brands Kapiti Kitchen, Supreme and The Goodness, was placed into receivership on January 10.

Staples Rodway's Tony Maginness and Jared Booth were brought in and appointed receivers of the business.

Finest Food Products was majority owned by Andrew Brodie, who purchased the 35-year-old business in 2013 having previously sold Roasted Addiction Coffee to Retail Food Group for $4m in 2011.

However, a document obtained by the Herald questions whether the company should have been placed into receivership in the first place.

It is understood Brodie's lawyer earlier wrote to representatives of the receivers seeking clarification about the reasons for the appointment.

The lawyer and the receivers now say the matter has "moved on".

The Herald understands Brodie and his father Don, who was also a director, disagreed on the direction of the business.

Don called in the receivers.

Maginness last week told the Herald the company had been placed into receivership after a trans-Tasman deal with a major customer, understood to be ASX-listed Retail Food Group, fell through.

Finest Food Products' factory was previously located in New Lynn before it moved to Mangere Bridge in September. The factory was up and running from October 5, and planning for the move had been underway since April.

The company was in the new location three months before it was placed into receivership.

Both Andrew Brodie and Don Brodie declined to comment.

A number of creditors were said to have been told by Don in late December that he was going to take a major shareholding in the business "as part of a restructure that was going to occur on 14 January", a source told to the Herald.

A creditor, who claims he is owed thousands of dollars, said he was confused as to why the company had not been placed into receivership before the company moved to a new site and got contractors in to fit it out.

"I question Don's motives for the receivership. Either way the business was [in trouble] prior to the relocation project without an injection of cash," he said.

The receivers said they were now working to facilitate a sale of the business.

Booth said they had received a high degree of interest in the business.