Employees invited to join In2food creditors meeting

The future of a collapsed national food wholesaler will be on the line at a meeting of creditors who are being asked to lodge their claims.

The future of a collapsed national food wholesaler will be on the line at a meeting of creditors next week.

Anyone owed money by In2food, which also trades as Yarra Valley Farms, has been invited to lodge a claim.

A notice to creditors and suppliers also reveals Deloitte has been added as an administrator.

The firm joins FTI Consulting picking over the bones of the company that has fallen over because of the closure of cafes and restaurants during the pandemic.

In2food’s employees were still being paid during the voluntary administration, as the company looked for a buyer.

Joint administrator Jason Tracy, of Deloitte, said employees could apply to sit on a panel to oversee the process.

“All creditors that have a just estimate of their claim, as well as employees, are entitled to stand for COI (Committee of Inspection) membership to represent the interests of all creditors. However, to operate efficiently, the COI should not be too large,” Mr Tracy said in a note to employees and suppliers.

FTI Consulting declined to answer questions about how much the company owed employees and suppliers.

Bill Kollatos, owned Yarra Valley farms before it was bought out by In2food. He is the chief executive of the expanded company.

It also refused to say whether there would be any job cuts, or how many casuals have been stood down.

The meeting of creditors and suppliers, which will be online because of COVID-19 restrictions, was due to be held on Wednesday August 25 at 11am.

The note from Deloitte states that the Commonwealth Bank was a major creditor, while wholesaler Metcash, was also owed money.

Mr Tracy added that Deloitte, which had already done some work on the business before it fell over, and the joint administrators were keeping the doors open.

“The Receivers are continuing to trade the business of the Companies on a business as usual basis whilst they seek a recapitalisation or sale of the business,” he wrote.

“The Receivers are responsible for dealing with the staff and suppliers of the business in respect to the ongoing trading of the business as well as conducting a sale process.”

FTI Consulting also did not answer questions about whether In2food’s chief executive Bill Kollatos was still involved in the company.

His LinkedIn page still lists him as chief executive.

The company supplied cafes and restaurants with fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as the aged care and defence sectors.

Mr Kollatos had built up the business trading as Yarra Valley Farms, which he started as an owner in 2001.

The company expanded and he became its managing director in 2004, before moving to In2food when that company bought Yarra Valley Farms in 2018.

The company also supplied ready made meals to David Jones, however that sector had suffered with less office workers heading into Australia’s cities during COVID-19 restrictions.

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