Sundance Holdings Ltd (06690471): administration
- Status
- Administration ended
- Administration began
- 2020-09-30
- Administrators
- Hugh Francis Jesseman, William Antony Batty
- Administrators' firm
- Antony Batty
- Formerly
- Sundance Partners Limited; Hofmann Industries Limited; Sundance Enterprises Limited
- Incorporated
- 2008-09-05
- Location
- London
- Industry
- 10320 Manufacture of fruit and vegetable juice
Why it went into administration
- COVID-19
- Supply chain disruption
- Creditor pressure / legal action
- Property / lease costs
- Brexit
From the administrators' statement
The business was founded in 2003 under the company name Sundance Partners LLP (“Sundance”) by members Sonmi Kim and Patrick Hofmann. A base for operations was secured at Acton Business Park. Sonmi Kim and Patrick Hofmann brought several years’ experience in investment banking to the enterprise and initially sought to specialise as a distributor for a recently developed brand of organic appie juice. They initially worked alone and built sales channels for the apple juice within the London hospitality and retail industries. They also sought to establish an internal range of fresh premium juices under the Sundance brand. By 2005, the business was in a position to hire employees - a Head of Client Relations and two drivers. Sundance grew rapidly and the following year moved to New Covent Garden Market, paying rent and service charges of approximately £108,000 per year. Revenue had risen to over £900,000 in 2006, from £100,000 in the first year of trading.
In 2010 Sundance made significant investments in an industrial citrus press and bottling equipment with a view to becoming the leading manufacturer and distributor within the London market. The juices which Sundance had previously specialised in were now accompanied by smoothies, coconut water, flavoured ice teas and flavoured varieties of milk and water. This proved to be successful and, by 2015, the Company had reached a revenue level of around £6.4m per year and benefited from a client base which included luxury five-star hotels, upmarket restaurants, bars, private members’ clubs and “grab and go” retail outlets. Additional funding was provided by Coutts & Co, who issued a loan secured on the assets of the Company in 2015, and the directors, who loaned their own persona! funds in order to facilitate the expansion of the business. It is further noted that Sonmi Kim and Patrick Hofmann provided the Secured Creditor with a personal guarantee, underwriting any remaining debt once all assets have been sold.
Sundance subsequently faced a number of industry-wide challenges and worked hard to successfully overcome them. These included, but were not limited to, the potential economic impact of Brexit and growing environmental concerns related to the use of plastic and high levels of air pollution. The Company addressed these issues by restructuring its operations between 2017 and 2019 in order to become fully sustainable. This work included collaborating with glass recycling equipment manufacturers and viewing new, more environmentally-friendly industrial properties.
Administrators' statement of proposals (2021-03-02) · Companies House register