A Pudsey commercial catering equipment business established in 1957 is being revived, saving around 20 jobs.
Hopkins Catering Equipment, best-known for supplying fryers to fish and chip shops, went into administration in November due to challenging trading conditions.
The Kent Road business, which employed more than 50 people, will now be run by Hopkins Frying Ranges in a deal secured by its administrators James Sleight and Oliver Collinge of PKF Geoffrey Martin & Co.
Hopkins Frying Ranges is run by Ferhat Akkaya, a fast-food entrepreneur and former customer of Hopkins, and Matthew Hopkins, a member of the Hopkins family which founded and ran the original business.
Administrator Oliver Collinge said:
“Hopkins is a historic Yorkshire business with first-class design and fabrication capabilities. The business was mothballed in mid-November as its cash position became untenable and since then we have been seeking a purchaser for this highly-respected brand and its assets.
“This is a particularly positive outcome as it provides for many of the company’s workforce to be re-employed and we wish the new business every success in the future.”
Mr Akkaya, of RGM, said:
“We were delighted to conclude this deal and rescue a much-admired business and we look forward to continuing to serve Hopkins customers for many years to come.
“We have taken on around 20 of the business’s former employees and are still recruiting, with a particular interest in highly skilled sheet metal workers and fabricators.”
In November former MD Victoria Hopkins, whose grandfather founded the company, blamed the company’s failure on bad weather last winter and a hot summer, along with rising costs facing fish and chip outlets.
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