Creditors / Suppliers
As of the 9th November 2026, Timothy Andrew Higgins, Edward Williams and Helen Wheeler-Jones of PwC have been appointed as Joint Administrators of Kanes Foods Limited ("Kanes Foods” or “the Company") and Littleton Property Services Limited ("Littleton”) (together “the Companies”)
What does ‘going into Administration’ mean?
Going into administration means the Companies are being taken under the management of the Joint Administrators who are licensed insolvency practitioners. The Joint Administrators assume control of the Companies from its directors.
What is an Administrator?
An Administrator is an officer of the Court and is qualified to manage the affairs of a business when it is insolvent. It is their role to take control of a Company’s affairs when it is in financial difficulty and try to find a longer-term solution for it.
The Joint Administrators act as agents of the Companies and without personal liability.
Who are the Joint Administrators?
The Joint Administrators are Timothy Andrew Higgins, Edward Williams and Helen Wheeler-Jones of PwC.
What has happened?
All trading activities of Kanes Foods have ceased with immediate effect. Littleton is part of the Kanes Foods group and holds a number of assets used in the business.
The Company faced significant financial distress and challenges over the course of the last few years including the failure of its wastewater treatment plant in June 2025, followed by drought related supply issues impacting its busy summer season in August 2026. Ongoing losses, negative cash flow and uncertainty over future demand put the Company's finances under increasing strain.
The directors explored several options to secure the future of the Company, including refinancing and a sale of the business. However, a transaction could not be concluded, and the additional funding required to continue trading could not be secured. As a result, the Companies had no alternative but to enter Administration.
Has production stopped?
The Companies have entered Administration with all trading activities ceasing with immediate effect and are not accepting any deliveries.
Will outstanding purchase orders be fulfilled?
No. All purchase orders not dispatched before the appointment date, being 9th November 2026, will not be fulfilled, and no further deliveries will be made. Please contact uk_kanes_creditors@pwc.com for any further queries.
I am owed money. What notification will I receive?
The Joint Administrators will issue a letter to all known creditors of the Companies within 7 days of the Joint Administrators’ appointments. This letter will include details for creditors on how to make a claim in the Administration.
The Joint Administrators will produce a report to all known creditors and members within 8 weeks' of the appointments. This report, known as the Joint Administrators’ proposals, will outline the steps taken by the Administrators to date and set out the strategy going forwards. It will be made available via upload to this website following the issue of the website notices alongside the initial creditors’ letters. This report will outline steps taken by the Joint Administrators since their appointment, detailed information on the proposed strategy for the Administration going forwards, including estimated returns for the various classes of creditor.
The Joint Administrators are also required to provide a written update on the Administration to all known creditors every six months. These reports will be published directly to the case website within one month of every six-month anniversary.
I have goods on site; can I get them back?
If you believe you have a Retention of Title claim over goods or a claim over a leased asset that you have supplied to the Companies, please contact uk_kanes_creditors@pwc.com with details of your assets including which entity you supply. A Retention of Title questionnaire and details of next steps will then be shared with you.
Can I claim as a creditor?
If the Companies owe you money prior to the Administration appointment date, you will be an unsecured creditor of the Administration estate. You can submit an unsecured claim for the amount you are owed to the Administration estate.
Further information on submitting a claim into the Administration and to download a proof of debt for completion, please visit the Documents to download section of the Joint Administrators website. Please ensure you submit a proof of debt in the correct company which you have a claim against.
It is too early in the process to be able to advise if there will be a dividend to the unsecured creditors. We will update creditors further as to the likelihood of a dividend in due course.
If you have any further queries, please send them in a new email to uk_kanes_creditors@pwc.com
What type of creditor am I?
Creditors can be classified as to the type of claim they have. These types will determine the quantum of distribution they will receive as the funds for each type is ring fenced.
The three main types of creditors are:
Secured (split into security via fixed/standard and floating charges);
Preferential; and
Unsecured.
Secured creditors have security registered at Companies House. When they have a fixed/standard charge over an asset, the secured creditor will be paid out of the realisations from that specific asset, after the costs of realisation have been deducted.
When they have a floating charge over an asset, the secured creditor will be paid out of the realisations from those assets, after the costs of realisation and other expenses of the insolvency procedure, the preferential creditors (see below) have been paid in full and the Prescribed Part (see below) has been set aside.
Preferential creditors primarily consist of employees for arrears of wages, accrued holiday pay, unpaid contributions to occupational pension schemes and state scheme premiums, all within certain limits.
Since December 2020, certain HMRC claims, including VAT, PAYE and NIC deductions, have ranked as secondary preferential claims, paid after employees’ claims. Preferential creditors take priority over all other creditors for proceeds from assets with no registered fixed charge.
Unsecured creditors are all other unsecured and non-preferential creditors (with the exception of shareholders/members). These are usually the normal “trade” creditors. They rank below preferential and secured creditors, with the exception of when the Prescribed Part is applicable.
What further information on the Administration will I receive?
The Joint Administrators will publish a report via the case website to all known creditors and members of the Companies within eight weeks of the appointment. This report is known as the Joint Administrators’ proposals and will outline steps taken by the Administrators to date and the strategy going forwards.
The Joint Administrators are also required to provide a written update on the Administration to all known creditors every six months. This report will be published to the case website within one month of every six-month anniversary or earlier if an Administrator vacates office or an extension to the Administration is granted.
Who can I contact if I have any other queries?
If you have any further queries, please email: uk_kanes_creditors@pwc.com
When will I get paid?
Payment for goods and services provided prior to the date of appointment will not be paid for as an expense of the Administration estate.
All outstanding amounts at the date of the Joint Administrators’ appointment rank as an unsecured claim in the Administration.
At this stage, if your claim includes VAT, you may be able to obtain VAT bad debt relief six months after your supply.
Will you refund the costs incurred in preparing a claim?
We are unable to refund the costs in preparing a claim. Consequently, we cannot refund any expenses incurred in obtaining information necessary to make a claim.
For all other creditor queries, please email: uk_kanes_creditors@pwc.com
Opting Out
Creditors have the right to elect to opt out of receiving certain documents about insolvency proceedings. Any election to opt out will not affect a creditor’s entitlement to receive dividends, should any be paid to creditors. Further details on opting out will be provided to creditors in our initial letter.
How to submit a claim
It is too early in the process to be able to advise if there will be a dividend to the unsecured creditors. We will update creditors further as to the likelihood of a dividend in due course. You do not need to take any action at this stage, however, should you wish to submit a claim, there is a proof of debt available to download from this website.
