Administrators of Rokewood Ltd seek buyer for Norfolk horticultural site

Administrators are marketing a 34-acre horticultural site on the Norfolk-Cambridgeshire border after an established oriental vegetable grower ceased trading.

Rokewood Limited, based near Wisbech, supplied pak choi, choi sum and similar produce to national retailers and wholesale markets but had faced sustained financial pressures.

The company, founded in 1987, experienced a combination of rising costs, labour shortages and pricing challenges in recent years. These issues were compounded by the death of its majority shareholder and sole director in February.

Rokewood Nursery, near Wisbech, is being marketed on behalf of the administrators of Rokewood Limited (Photos: Gordon Brothers)

After exploring a range of options, including additional funding, continued trading and liquidation scenarios, administration was deemed the best route for the company.

It ceased trading on 25 March this year, when all employees were made redundant.

Nick Harris and Lucinda Coleman, of PKF Francis Clark, were subsequently appointed joint administrators of Rokewood Limited on 10 April.

A pre-packaged sale of plant, machinery and vehicles at the company’s smaller leasehold site at Wyboston, Bedfordshire, was followed by an auction of similar assets at its main nursery, near Wisbech.

Nick Harris, restructuring partner at PKF Francis Clark, said: “Rokewood was a well-established supplier within the UK horticulture sector. Sadly, like many businesses in the industry, it faced significant cost and operational pressures in recent years.

“Following our appointment, our priorities have been to support employees with making claims to the Redundancy Payments Service, secure the company’s assets and implement a structured sale process to maximise value for creditors. The successful disposal of the Wyboston assets immediately after our appointment was a first step in achieving that objective.

“We are now focused on selling the Wisbech site, which is a substantial, well-equipped horticultural facility with ongoing commercial potential.”

Agents Gordon Brothers are marketing the freehold site, with a guide price of £1.4 million. The property includes extensive glasshouses, polytunnels, warehousing and associated infrastructure, as well as residential accommodation and staff facilities. Interested parties can contact Russell Speechley, at Gordon Brothers, for more information.

Based on current estimates, it is anticipated that secured and preferential creditors will be paid in full, with a distribution also expected for unsecured creditors.

The administrators have been supported in their work by Kevin Hawthorn and Larissa Gibbs, at DAC Beachcroft, and Josh Chivers, Russell Speechley and Simon Bamford, at Gordon Brothers.

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