Another farmer co-op goes under

Anybody would have been free to approach the administrators with a bid to cover the assets and the remaining length on the lease? :scratchhead:

My point was that Openfield were seen as one of the major contributing factors in Angus Cereals demise, and I was highlighting the irony that they have now purchased it.

Openfield have purchased the balance of the space they did not originally own from the other members for a fraction of the cost both they and the other members initially paid. If owning the site is such an attractive business proposition (so much so they must have outbid any other bids), why did they not support the co-op and make a success of it rather than letting it go into administration? And lets not forget that Openfield no longer employ a single Grain Buyer in Scotland!

Openfield are clearly buying Angus Cereals solely to not lose the asset value on their balance sheet, and to fudge their next seasons figures. "We lost money again but look at the big new store we purchased, therefore these results are not too bad as we made a big investment".... that reads far better than "We lost money again, oh and we also lost the X thousand tonnes of space at Angus Cereals we had valued in our book for the price we paid for it".
 

Lincsman

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lincolnshire
My point was that Openfield were seen as one of the major contributing factors in Angus Cereals demise, and I was highlighting the irony that they have now purchased it.

Openfield have purchased the balance of the space they did not originally own from the other members for a fraction of the cost both they and the other members initially paid. If owning the site is such an attractive business proposition (so much so they must have outbid any other bids), why did they not support the co-op and make a success of it rather than letting it go into administration? And lets not forget that Openfield no longer employ a single Grain Buyer in Scotland!

Openfield are clearly buying Angus Cereals solely to not lose the asset value on their balance sheet, and to fudge their next seasons figures. "We lost money again but look at the big new store we purchased, therefore these results are not too bad as we made a big investment".... that reads far better than "We lost money again, oh and we also lost the X thousand tonnes of space at Angus Cereals we had valued in our book for the price we paid for it".

So Openfield have bought space for eg £10 that a farmer paid eg. £50 for, and the farmer had no say in it, are all CS systems like this?... que man from woldgrain

Isnt this theft?
 

Grain Buyer

Member
Location
Omnipresent
Googled Angus Cereals and Openfield and this popped up from June last year.......

In a letter to members, newly appointed chairman Patrick Lambert revealed the plans to end the marketing and management services agreement with Openfield in June next year. Mr Lambert said: “It is increasingly apparently the remote management of the business by Openfield has become unsustainable and, despite the passion and enthusiasm they undoubtedly brought to the relationship and the business in the early years, this has somewhat dwindled.“Angus Cereals is no longer progressing in the manner required to deliver a sustainable future.”

I hope Openfield can make a go of this. It would be interesting if anyone else wanted it, or Openfield have chucked farmers in the area a life line.:scratchhead:
 

Lincsman

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lincolnshire
Googled Angus Cereals and Openfield and this popped up from June last year.......

In a letter to members, newly appointed chairman Patrick Lambert revealed the plans to end the marketing and management services agreement with Openfield in June next year. Mr Lambert said: “It is increasingly apparently the remote management of the business by Openfield has become unsustainable and, despite the passion and enthusiasm they undoubtedly brought to the relationship and the business in the early years, this has somewhat dwindled.“Angus Cereals is no longer progressing in the manner required to deliver a sustainable future.”

I hope Openfield can make a go of this. It would be interesting if anyone else wanted it, or Openfield have chucked farmers in the area a life line.:scratchhead:

In the respect they can re-buy their storage or they get back their storage so can sell it/use it?
 
So Openfield have bought space for eg £10 that a farmer paid eg. £50 for, and the farmer had no say in it, are all CS systems like this?... que man from woldgrain

Isnt this theft?

Angus Cereals went into administration, at which point the board of directors (and the members they represented) ceased to have control.

In order to meet the debts of the company, the administrators would be duty-bound to accept the best bid presented to them by interested parties, which happens to have come from Openfield.

It could easily have come from a different merchant, or from a consortium of growers looking for an independent store.

Any company going into administration would suffer a similar fate.
 
Googled Angus Cereals and Openfield and this popped up from June last year.......

In a letter to members, newly appointed chairman Patrick Lambert revealed the plans to end the marketing and management services agreement with Openfield in June next year. Mr Lambert said: “It is increasingly apparently the remote management of the business by Openfield has become unsustainable and, despite the passion and enthusiasm they undoubtedly brought to the relationship and the business in the early years, this has somewhat dwindled.“Angus Cereals is no longer progressing in the manner required to deliver a sustainable future.”

I hope Openfield can make a go of this. It would be interesting if anyone else wanted it, or Openfield have chucked farmers in the area a life line.:scratchhead:

The site has been shut all harvest and life has carried on for all the ex members who made commitments with other stores.

If I was a gambling man and reading between the lines of Mr Dallas' statement, I predict Openfield will rent out the whole site to Bairds / Scotgrain who bought most of the barley from Angus Cereals. This would get Openfield some rental income as they have no grain buyers in the area. That's said, I really can't imagine any of the ex members or local farmers wanting to line Openfields pockets indirectly by delivering malting barley to the site...
 

Lincsman

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lincolnshire
Angus Cereals went into administration, at which point the board of directors (and the members they represented) ceased to have control.

In order to meet the debts of the company, the administrators would be duty-bound to accept the best bid presented to them by interested parties, which happens to have come from Openfield.

It could easily have come from a different merchant, or from a consortium of growers looking for an independent store.

Any company going into administration would suffer a similar fate.

Is it in the woldgrain small print when a farmer buys space that he may loose all or some of his investment at any time in the future and will have no say in it? ie. the same as buying shares in a company?
 

Clive

Staff Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lichfield
Angus Cereals went into administration, at which point the board of directors (and the members they represented) ceased to have control.

In order to meet the debts of the company, the administrators would be duty-bound to accept the best bid presented to them by interested parties, which happens to have come from Openfield.

It could easily have come from a different merchant, or from a consortium of growers looking for an independent store.

Any company going into administration would suffer a similar fate.

Yet in every cs thread there ever is we are assured the asset belongs to the farmer who can sell it whenever he chooses to ......,,,,,,,.
 
Is it in the woldgrain small print when a farmer buys space that he may loose all or some of his investment at any time in the future and will have no say in it? ie. the same as buying shares in a company?


If any company is unable to service its debts and goes into administration, the appointed administrators are tasked with selling the assets to clear as much of the debt as possible, which is beyond the control of the directors.

The Members Agreement will outline what happens if the company is wound up.

Woldgrain's situation is distinctly different in that the company owns the store and also the land it is built on, as well as neighbouring land.
 

Fuzzy

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Bedfordshire
If any company is unable to service its debts and goes into administration, the appointed administrators are tasked with selling the assets to clear as much of the debt as possible, which is beyond the control of the directors.

The Members Agreement will outline what happens if the company is wound up.

Woldgrain's situation is distinctly different in that the company owns the store and also the land it is built on, as well as neighbouring land.
If Woldgrain own the land and the store what do the your members actually own ?
 

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