The Official Assignee was appointed liquidator of Denheath Corporation Ltd, which traded as Denheath Desserts, in August.
The custard and flaky pastry treats were produced in South Canterbury for decades, initially from the former post office in Pleasant Point and then from a factory in Timaru.
Reasons given for the liquidation included Covid, insufficient capital, economic conditions, retail compliance costs, export issues and costs, the report said.
Various parties had expressed interest in purchasing the company’s business, including trademarks and recipes, and the secured creditor had confirmed the liquidator could proceed with the sale.
Further information was likely to be provided in the liquidator’s next statutory report. Stock arrangements were being made for the sale of frozen stock.
IRD was owed just over $141,000, while unsecured creditors were owed just over $517,000. Employee claims were to be determined.
The company’s directors are Donald and Lisa Templeton. In December, 2023, Mrs Templeton told TV1 that the business was on the market after 24 years.
The couple took over the business from Mrs Templeton’s mother following her terminal cancer diagnosis in 1999. She had previously bought Denheath House in Pleasant Point and the custard square recipe in 1996.
