New Zealand tonic and mixer producer East Imperial has wound up operations for good and intends to cancel its listing on the London stock exchange as it enters liquidation.
In a stock exchange filing today (31 July), East Imperial said it had been notified that an entity called INL Investment Limited "has proceeded to appoint a liquidator to the company's New Zealand subsidiary, East Imperial Limited, having first exercised its security over the subsidiary's intermediate holding company.”
East Imperial confirmed that its board of directors had also proceeded to cancel the company’s stock market listing, following a suspension of shares in April.
The London-listed company added that the “board has looked at a number of possible routes to seek repayment for creditors and potentially retain value to shareholders.”
However, it noted that while these discussions have been ongoing to the present date (31 July), INL Investment had voted to appoint a liquidator.
In April, the New Zealand-based company said it was “unable to meet” a £2.2m ($2.8m) redemption notice from INL Investment.
An East Imperial corporate update indicated that INL Investment had backed East Imperial in August 2023 through the issue of convertible loan notes. It also indicated that a deed of share charge had been issued to the mixers business in October.
As it was unable to meet this redemption liability at the time, the group said that its board had entered discussions with professional advisors to assess its strategic options.
Founded in New Zealand and Singapore in 2012, East Imperial produces mixers for sale across APAC, the US and EMEA. The company sells in more than 20 countries.
The group's range, which includes Mombasa ginger beer and grapefruit tonic, is available in both the US on-trade and off-trade markets. Some of its clients include Peninsula Hotels, a luxury hotel chain present in Beverly Hills, Chicago and Miami. Its US distribution is handled by Republic National Distributing Co. (RNDC).
In its full year results ended 31 December 2023, East Imperial posted revenue of £2.35m ($3m), down from £3.17m year on year.
