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BL Premium reports that potential investors are said to be circling to give financial backing to a consortium of farmers for whom the clock is ticking to find the money to purchase the Tiger Brands canning factory in Ashton, Western Cape, before the listed food producer shutters it.
Agri SA executive director Christo van der Rheede — who has been working with the Canned Fruit Producers Association and 160 farmers to buy out Africa’s largest fruit canning factory after Tiger Brands gave the consortium a 60-day deadline before it pulls the plug — said interested lenders were coming forward to stop an imminent foreclosure. The sudden interest of financial backers for the deciduous fruit business, which produces tinned peaches, apricots and pears, brings hope that the 250 full-time jobs, and 4,500 seasonal jobs that are on the line might be saved along with the small town of Ashton, whose entire economy is dependent on the factory. Tiger Brands has been struggling to find a buyer for the loss-making Langeberg & Ashton Foods fruit canning business and in October 2020 the consortium tabled an “indicative offer” to buy it. By March this year the farmers had not found the cash, so Tiger last month launched a “consultation period” which ends in August. Since then, the consortium has been scrambling to secure a lender. Trade union federation Cosatu has labelled Tiger Brands “insensitive” for wanting to close the factory, calling on it and the relevant ministries to explore “serious alternatives” to closure.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Michelle Gumede at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
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