News

Liquidators appointed over Skyr yoghurt producer

Posted: 08/09/2022

A Skipton food business which last year featured on BBC programme Hairy Bikers for its Icelandic-style skyr yogurt products has closed.

Hesper Farm Dairy diversified in 2015 as it attempted to secure its long-term future after falling milk prices created financial challenges.

The initiative was led by Sam Moorhouse, the third-generation of the family, 60 years after his grandfather George had started an Aireburn Herd at the farm on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales.

It boasted of being the first farm in Britain to make skyr and its award-winning products had been stocked by Waitrose and Morrisons, as well as independent and artisan retailers.

TV chefs Dave Myers and Si King visited the farm as part of “The Hairy Bikers Go North” series that was broadcast last autumn and showcased independent food producers and retailers across the region.

Skyr yoghurt is made in a 24-hour labour-intensive process, with minimal mechanisation, by incubating skimmed milk with live active cultures and straining away the whey.

Following the appointment of Interpath Advisory as Liquidators, the specialist machinery and business asset team at Walker Singleton has been instructed to market the Skyr production plant and associated assets by private treaty and they are seeking offers for the equipment as a whole. The equipment comprises of specialist mixing, packing, UV and filling lines, together with boiler and generator which are used for the production.

Hesper Farm Dairy Limited have a number of registered trademarks and this along with other intellectual property will be offered for sale alongside the production line and plant and machinery.

Walker Singleton are looking for early expressions of interest and are confident that the sale will attract a great number of bidders.