Britain’s biggest tobacco supplier, Palmer & Harvey, is at risk of falling into administration, potentially putting thousands of people’s jobs at risk, according to sources close to the company.
Sky News on Tuesday reported that P&H, which currently employs around 4,000 people, is braced for the company to fail after a series of takeover talks with private equity firm Carlyle.
Sources close to P&H confirmed the impending administration to The Independent. The company itself was not immediately available for comment.
One source said that P&H had filed a notice of its intention to appoint administrators and that professional services firm PwC was likely to handle an administration.
P&H is the UK’s biggest wholesaler. It’s a major supplier to the country’s biggest supermarkets, but also to smaller retail outlets, corner shops and convenience stores.
The company is understood to have been hit by a “working capital problem” that might prevent it from being able to continue trading. Sky News reported, however, that some insiders were insisting that the company was still hopeful of salvaging a rescue package from its lenders as well as the tobacco industry.
Due to P&H's dominance across the UK, an imminent administration could have a substantial impact on supply chains around the country, especially over the busy Christmas period.
According to Sky News, P&H supplies tobacco products to every Tesco outlet in the country.
