Smith Cooper’s Business Recovery and Insolvency team secure a rosy future for award winning Welsh Food Centre

Bodnant Welsh Food Centre (BWFC), established in 2012, is a multi-award-winning, multifaceted Food Centre which showcases the very best of Welsh food, including fresh and locally sourced meat and dairy products, and offers the best seasonal food and drink from in house specialists to local artisan producers.

Over the last 6 years it has welcomed over a million visitors and won numerous awards for its bespoke products and services, but despite this, the business has faced intense financial pressures over a significant period.

Despite substantial efforts from both an operational and financial perspective, it found itself operating in an unsustainable manner, forcing owners Michael and Caroline McLaren to seek a buyer to help secure the future of the business.

BWFC sought the help of accountants and business advisors from Smith Cooper to ensure the best outcome possible.

After an intense and accelerated sales process throughout November, local businessman Richard Reynolds, Managing Director of the tearoom brand Love To Eat, bought the business and assets of Bodnant Welsh Food, taking over the site situated in the heart of the Conwy Valley.

Dean Nelson, Head of Business Recovery and Insolvency at Smith Cooper, comments “We’re delighted to have secured the sale of the business and assets of Bodnant Welsh Food to Richard Reynolds and we are confident that, with continued local support, we will see the Food Centre flourish again as a fantastic asset for this area, its economy and its people.”

News that the sale has completed successfully will be welcomed by many, particularly couples who had planned their wedding at the venue. Despite a period of uncertainty, the new owners have confirmed they will honour any weddings that have been booked and will be considering any deposits that have already been paid for other events, a fantastic outcome for all involved.

Richard Reynolds, the new operator of the Bodnant Welsh Food Centre, has expressed enthusiasm for his latest venture “I am delighted to have bought the business and assets of Bodnant Welsh Food, having already agreed Heads of Terms for my lease of the Bodnant Welsh Food Centre site, and I will be working hard to ensure its future success. The centre is situated in spectacular surroundings and has so much potential, boasting a fantastic array of award-winning products and services which I hope to honour and enhance further. I hope to have the business up and running again as soon as possible, under the name Bodnant Welsh Food – and to continue promoting Welsh food in the Conwy Valley, for the benefit of the local community.”

Michael McLaren, former owner of the Bodnant Welsh Food Centre comments “I am delighted that Richard Reynolds has purchased the business & assets of Bodnant Welsh Food from the liquidator of Furnace Farm Ltd. A week ago, when Richard signed the Heads of Terms for his lease of the site, he reassured me that he was aiming to carry on the same range of businesses at the Bodnant Welsh Food Centre, using the same name and branding – and to be open again to the public very soon indeed. That is terrific news; and I wish him every success in the future of the business, which has greatly benefited the area. I also hope that he can re-employ many of the staff who have lost their jobs. The vision and concept of a Welsh Food Centre in the Conwy Valley will continue and thrive – and this will be a legacy of which we can all be very proud.”