An award-winning smoked salmon supplier in Leeming Bar which collapsed into administration with the loss of 86 jobs amid fraud investigations has been rescued by ‘The Salmon Man’.
Seafood specialist, The Salmo Group, has bought the previous business out of administration and is already starting to take on former workers.
Bleiker’s Smokehouse based at Leeming Bar business park near Bedale, which supplied some of the major supermarkets in the country including Tesco and Sainsbury, is believed to have gone into administration after losing a contract with Aldi in April.
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The company was founded originally in 1993, winning several awards from the Guild of Fine Foods Retailers and has been backed by leading chefs including Jamie Oliver and Rick Stein.
At the time of its collapse, Gavan Wafer, Head of Investigation at the National Food Crime Unit, said: “Our investigation into Bleiker’s Smokehouse Ltd is related to a number of alleged issues including concerns about their country of origin claims on some of their smoked salmon products.
“The NFCU has acted on intelligence it received and which has resulted in one arrest being made. On the 3rd May 2022 a 56 year old male from Ripon was arrested in Northallerton, North Yorkshire as part of a current NFCU investigation. The suspect was interviewed and has been released under investigation.”
Now The Salmo Group, which has an extensive portfolio of seafood brands including Seriously Fish and New York Smokehouse has taken it over for an undisclosed sum. Yorkshireman David Smith takes the helm as Managing Director.
He said: “I’m delighted to be returning to Yorkshire, which has always been my home. After many years building quality seafood supply businesses from the US I’m looking forward to investing in the Northallerton business, growing the team and the brands and ensuring we give supermarkets, independent retailers and restaurants across the UK, the very best quality smoked fish products.
“We have already employed some members of staff from the previous team who bring exceptional experience and expertise and as we build the new business, we’ll continue to grow the team and recruit more staff from the local area.”
David Smith is known in seafood supply industry circles as The Salmon Man, with a passion for making quality fish products easy to cook and serve, making smoked salmon accessible as a healthy, high protein option for meals and snacks.
The Salmo Group has no links with the former business and is not involved with the investigation. The new business has secured sector-specialist and industry quality accreditations across its production facility and product range.
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