New Zealand fresh-produce supplier Speirs Foods has been placed into voluntary administration, with Jessica Kellow and Iain Shephard of BDO Wellington appointed as joint and several administrators. The appointment, confirmed by majority owner Speirs Group, covers both Speirs Foods and Speirs Foods General Partner Ltd. with immediate effect. The Marton-based business, which produces and distributes fresh foods, mainly salads, to supermarkets and foodservice customers across New Zealand, has traded for more than 50 years and employs up to 60 staff. The move follows a 16 September request by the company's directors for the secured lender to appoint a receiver, and after discussions with the lender and legal counsel the directors resolved to enter voluntary administration; managing director Craig Tucker stepped down from his role the day before the BDO appointment. Speirs Foods said annual sales volumes had continued to decline, with the fall increasing over the past year as supermarket customers were no longer purchasing the same volumes of salads, and it cited sustained margin pressure across the fresh food manufacturing sector from significant increases in labour, raw material, packaging, freight, energy and other input costs, exacerbated by recent inflationary impacts associated with international instability, including the Iranian war. For the six months ended 31 December, the company reported revenue of NZ$6.51m compared to NZ$7.58m a year earlier, with a total loss attributable to owners and non-controlling interests of NZ$474,000 against a loss of NZ$527,000 in the previous year, while for the year ended 30 June 2025 revenue increased 1.2% to NZ$16.31m and the total loss narrowed by 74.8% to NZ$227,000.
