A STRUGGLING food manufacturer could be sold by Christmas, saving up to 1,100 jobs, it was claimed yesterday.

The administrators of Hibernia Foods said some of the biggest companies in the industry had shown interest.

There was shock when the firm went into administration last month, threatening jobs at three plants in Hartlepool and Stockton.

Receiver Myles Halley, of administrators KPMG, said the sale of Hibernia was complex and it could be some time before a formal announcement could be made.

This followed the news that more than 50 inquiries were made from potential buyers within weeks of the firm going into liquidation.

Mr Halley said: "We are hopeful we can reach a conclusion before the Christmas holidays.

"We are pleased to say there has been considerable interest in acquiring the businesses. Most encouragingly, some of the largest companies in this sector have emerged as potential buyers."

A union spokesman said the news was promising.

He said: "We are working with everyone concerned and the workers have been extremely flexible. It is promising but it is difficult to comment without concrete information."

A total of 400 people are employed at the Stockton site, 493 at Oaksway, Hartlepool and 200 at the factory in Hartlepool's Brenda Road.

The company makes Mr Brain's faggots and also holds the European franchise to produce Sara Lee bakery products and Entenmann's chilled deserts. It has a number of own-label products for supermarket chains.

It is believed that Hibernia Foods, which has its headquarters in Dublin, had a number of debts, including a bill of £17.5m owed to one company.

Hibernia Foods said it had £3m expansion plans which would have created 100 jobs just weeks before the announcement on Monday, October 27, that it had gone into receivership.

The company, which has an administration office in York, also has factories in Birmingham and Bristol, and employs more than 2,000 across the UK.