THE chances of a failed Northumberland food factory re-opening for business appeared virtually nil last night, after it emerged its assets have been sold.

Equipment from the former Cheviot Foods, Northumberland Foods and Longbenton Foods site at Amble, which has been closed since before Christmas, has been sold to a Dutch auctioneer who is now selling it on.

The factory building is also currently up for sale and although there have been several expressions of interest, the local MP last night described the latest developments as “a sad end to jobs in food production at the factory”.

The site closed shortly before most recent operators – Tyneside-based Longbenton Foods – went into administration. Workers who had been employed by that company were made redundant at the time.

Now it has emerged that assets from the factory were sold by the administrator acting for Northumberland Foods to Dutch based auctioneer Troostwijk. That company’s UK representative James Hague last night revealed that it had approached administrator Begbies Traynor about the purchase of a “substantial proportion” of the equipment from the factory, on behalf of its client, a food company based in Turkey.

Mr Hague said it was then agreed that the Dutch company would buy all the assets from the factory as it was believed to be more “cost effective” and “attractive” to the administrator.

The assets wanted by the Turkish company have now been sold to it, and are awaiting shipping next month.