THE new owner of a troubled food factory says he is confident the business can be turned around and made profitable, but says there may be job losses.

Wayne Hitchman, who has taken over Freshbake Foods, in Hartlepool, after leading a management buyout for the ailing plant, said he could not be certain all 300 staff would keep their jobs.

Staff at the former Hibernia Foods Factory, in the town's Oakesway, were thrown into turmoil in December when the company collapsed with debts of £17.5m.

Receivers found a buyer in Freshbake Foods, but this was short-lived when that company went into administration.

On Tuesday, it was announced that Mr Hitchman, who spent seven-and-a-half years with Freshbake, had bought the Hartlepool factory from receiver Pricewaterhouse Coopers under his new company, Bonne Bouche Limited.

It was hoped the buyout would lead to the safeguarding of the 300 jobs.

Mr Hitchman said: "At the moment, it is too early to say what will happen on the jobs front because we are going into a 30-day consultation period.

"However, we are hopeful the vast majority will be retained. Our aim now is to retain the business we have and bring in new customers.

"There are opportunities to do this, but our priority is to get Christmas out of the way and then look forward.

"While it is early days, I am confident we can turn the business around and make it profitable."