BOSSES at a Tyneside company say they don’t have enough money to pay their workers after their backers refused to release £10,000 for legal reasons.

Burnopfield-based pie maker Tindale and Stanton, which employs more than 50 people, was taken over by new owner Stuart Harris on Thursday.

When Mr Harris contacted the firm’s funders Bibby Financial Services to release £10,000 to pay his staff, the financial services company refused to hand over the cash until they had met the man in charge.

Bibby has proposed a face-to-face meeting with Mr Harris and the management team for Monday, but Mr Harris said this is too late for the company’s workers, who expected their money yesterday.

Manchester-based Bibby are contracted to Tindale to provide funding through an invoice finance facility. Mr Harris said: “All the management and employees at Tindale and Stanton are asking Bibby Finance is to release the funds to allow the company to continue to trade until Wednesday, when a new provider takes over to fund the company long term.

“If the staff walk before then, which we can’t blame them for, then the company would go into liquidation.”

A spokesman for Bibby said: “Contrary to reports, we have been trying to arrange a meeting over email with the management team of Tindale and Stanton for the last week to obtain the details of the change of ownership and to discuss if and how we can work together.

“This is normal practice when there is a change of ownership.

“Such discussions cannot be held over the telephone for legal reasons. It always has to be an official recorded meeting.”

Tindale and Stanton has had a chequered history during the last few years with a number of different investors at the helm. The firm started by two Tyneside neighbours once sold £14m of products a year and had 300 staff, but had been on the slide for years and collapsed in November 2011 after its work supplying Netto stores was lost with the retail chain’s demise.

It was then bought by Scarborough entrepreneur Arthur Harris, the new owner’s father, who wanted to bring it together with his own Woodhead bakery and supply his Ugo chain of stores.

But his stores’ business collapsed and then so did the bakery firms. It was subsequently rescued by RDT Foods UK in January this year.

If the staff walk before Wednesday, which we can’t blame them for, then the company would go into liquidation