Typhoo Tea has fallen into administration after 121 years.
The vapes and batteries maker Supreme has said it is in talks over a potential rescue deal to snap up Typhoo, which filed a notice to appoint administrators on Wednesday, according to official filings.
The collapse follows several years of declining sales, mounting debts and even a break-in at its Wirral factory last year.
Insolvency specialists at Kroll have been appointed to oversee the administration process and are hoping to strike a rescue deal for the business, which it is understood has fewer than 100 employees.
Supreme – a London-listed vaping products and drinks manufacturer – told shareholders on Thursday that rescue talks were at “an advanced stage” but it is not certain an acquisition deal will be completed.
The move would be part of efforts by Supreme to grow its drinks and nutrition operations, as it reduces its focus on vaping before a government clampdown on disposable vapes due next year.
A spokesperson for Kroll said: “As reported recently, the company has experienced significant cashflow constraints as a result of supply chain disruptions and subsequent service issues.
“The company has been exploring a sale of the business and assets which is in the process of concluding.
“The administration process provides Typhoo Tea with protection, allowing the joint administrators to finalise the sale in order to rescue the business.”
Typhoo’s latest company filings showed that it made a £38m loss last year, while sales fell by a quarter to £25.3m.
In August 2023, Typhoo suffered a blow when trespassers broke into the company’s former factory in Merseyside and occupied the site for several days. Typhoo said at the time that they caused “extensive damage” and made the site “inaccessible”.
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The company had been trying to sell the factory, in a deal that eventually went through in June 2024.
Typhoo said the incident made up the bulk of £24m of exceptional costs that year, and that it had “materially” affected its day-to-day running.
Founded in 1903, Typhoo has long been one of Britain’s best-known tea brands, but the decline in recent years has pushed it to the brink of going out of business.
Since 2021, the private equity firm Zetland Capital has been its majority shareholder