Heather Mills' VBites goes into administration affecting Peterlee and Corby sites
Heather Mills’ vegan food business, based in the North East, has gone into administration after failing to raise investment amid rising costs.
Administrators have taken over the running of VBites, which operates out of Peterlee and Corby, and has made 24 employees redundant across the company.
The entrepreneur and former model who was once married to The Beatles star, Sir Paul McCartney, said it was "extremely distressing" to see the business collapse and claimed Brexit had played a part, labelling it as "utterly devastating" for the sector.
In a statement, she blamed the demise of the company on a "combination of corporate greed and poor management, the cost of living crisis, price rises in the global ingredients and utilities markets, and the current state of the manufacturing economy in Britain".
She also said in a Facebook post: "VBites ultimately fell victim to the galvanised misinformation currently being undertaken by the meat and dairy industries."
Heather Mills launched the company in 1993 and in 2019 she bought two sites in the North East, with one in Seaton Delaval and one in Peterlee.
Speaking at the time, she told ITV News Tyne Tees that "the plan is that the North East is going to become the plant based valley of the world".
That big ambition has come to an end, with administrators taking over the running of the company on Monday 11 December.
Heather Mills speaks to ITV News Tyne Tees in 2019 about her ambitions for VBites
Some 24 employees have been made redundant, mostly from the firm's site in Corby, but with six losing their jobs in Peterlee.
Twenty-five jobs have been retained in Corby and 29 at the Peterlee site as administrators continue to trade as they search for a new buyer.
Administrator, James Clark, from Interpath Advisory told us: “Our immediate priority is to provide support and assistance to those employees impacted by redundancy, as well as seeking a buyer for the business and its assets. We would encourage any interested parties to make contact with us at the earliest opportunity.”
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