A CATERING firm in Christchurch has gone into administration, with more than 90 members of staff being made redundant.

Silverstar Foods Ltd, which traded as Turners Fine Foods after merging with the former Coastline Produce Ltd early last year, has ceased trading. Restructuring firm KPMG were appointed last Tuesday as administrators.

A notice on Turners’ website said: “The company has ceased to trade, no further orders will be taken and no further deliveries will be made.”

The news emerges less than a month after the company told staff that approximately 91 people at its offices in Airfield Way faced redundancy – it had initially promised to create 100 new jobs when it first merged with Coastline Produce.

The majority of job losses have been at Turners Fine Foods’ site in Goudhurst, Kent, where 311 members of staff were made redundant. Elsewhere in the county, 53 jobs were lost in Tonbridge.

Only in April, the company, which supplied cheese, charcuterie, deli, and other such produce, had reported upbeat trading figures showing turnover increased by nearly 30 per cent to £41.5m in 2015.

Employee Andy Ebdon, from Springbourne, worked as a lorry driver for the firm. He said he and his colleagues were “devastated” after losing their jobs.

“I’ve been off sick for six months because I had an accident at work, and I only found out about this after a letter was sent to me at home.

“I’m glad I haven’t been there for six months because if I had it would have absolutely killed me to see the business go down as much as it did.”

The 51-year-old, who was an employee for three years, said some colleagues had spent many years working for Coastline Produce and then Turners.

“I put three hard years into that place and I loved that. For me, personally, I’ve lost a lot of friends now because of this. Christchurch is a little place so for 91 odd people to lose their jobs - it has an impact. There are husbands and wives who’ve worked there for donkey’s years. It’s heartbreaking.

“With Coastline, we covered all along the south coast as far up as Oxford, Camberley and everything in between.

“I just feel sorry for all the customers that have been let down,” he added.