Halo Food, the New Zealand-headquartered business that appointed administrators in August, has gone into liquidation.
Given the company’s listing in Australia, the registered operations in that country – Halo Manufacturing, Halo Food Co. and Omni Brands – are included in the liquidation process, which was effective on 30 January, according to a statement today (2 February).
KordaMentha, the administrator led by Rahul Goyal, Kate Conneely and Michael Korda, will oversee the liquidation, while accountancy house KPMG is the appointed receiver and manager.
“The receivers and managers continue to have day-to-day control of the assets and trading operations of the companies,” the statement read, noting Halo Food’s creditors had opted to wind up the company.
“We confirm that the liquidators have put in place arrangements to respond, free of charge, to members’ and creditors’ queries in relation to the consequences and progress of the external administration.”
Halo Food had three manufacturing facilities in Sydney and Melbourne in Australia, and another at its headquarters in Christchurch in New Zealand.
The administration process was initiated last year after a review dating back to March failed to find alternative options, which were presented as a divestment of the business, finding a suitable buyer or a partnership with another company.
Halo Food, which until 2021 traded as Keytone Dairy, had sought to bolster its financial position with the sale last year of The Healthy Mummy weight-loss business. However, it only raised a fraction of what was paid when it acquired the company in 2022.
In October last year, the receivers secured a buyer for a Halo Food plant in Sydney. The purchaser was Body Science International, a unit of Sweden-based Humble Group.
What remained in the product line-up was the Tonik brand of protein bars and shakes supplied to the Australian market and Gran’s Fudge. Halo Food also owned the former Omniblend business, an Australian manufacturer of milk powders and UHT dairy drinks it acquired in 2019.
The business also operated as a contract manufacturer for brands in Australia and New Zealand, as well as a supplier of private-label products.
