A Sydney-based cookie business has been plunged into voluntary administration, owing millions of dollars to creditors and staff.
The Spotted Cow Cookie Company was taken over by administrators Hugh Armenis and Michael Carrafa from SV Partners last month.
The administrators have taken over operations and advertised the business for sale as they liaise with other companies interested in purchasing the company and its assets.
The company’s future could be decided as early as this Friday, when a second meeting with creditors will take place.
Staff are owed more than $1.1million combined in wages, superannuation and annual leave, according to the administrator’s estimates.
They also noted inaccuracies in the company’s historical payroll processes.
‘We identified instances of the company not applying the applicable award correctly, e.g. minimum wage rates, weekend rates, overtime, casual loading, shift rates, and penalties,’ the report states.
It also states the company experienced financial difficulty due to significant expansion within the business.
The Spotted Cow Cookie Company has been placed into administration
Spotted Cow Cookie Company was once the preferred cookie supplier for major airlines
The growth resulted in inadequate cashflow to meet operating expenses, unsustainable trading terms with certain customers and unprofitable supply contracts.
Founded in 2004 by Tahnee Walters, Spotted Cow Cookie Company was once hailed as Australia’s next big thing in baked treats.
The business was also once the preferred cookie supplier for airlines Qantas and Virgin Blue, now known as Virgin Australia.
‘I wanted to make cookies like the ones you would make at home, the cookies you made as a kid, the ones that most people don’t have time to make,’ Ms Walters told Sydney Morning Herald in 2012.
‘I see Spotted Cow Cookies as not just another cookie company, but a business whose branding is strong and respected, and most of all loved by people all over the world.’
The company was taken over by new owners in 2018, following Ms Walters’ death.
At the time, Spotted Cow treats were sold nationwide at Caltex, Event Cinemas, Gelatissimo and hundreds of independent retailers.
The company’s future could be decided as early as this Friday, when a second meeting with creditors will take place.
Today, its goods are on the shelves of at least two major supermarket chains and various retailers.
Manufacturing operations are currently based in inner-city Alexandria, where the lease won’t be renewed when it expires next month.
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Spotted Cow Cookies collapses: Sydney store enters administration