Highland Toffee job losses

The maker of Highland Toffee, Wham bar, Pan Drops and Bonbons has ceased trading with the loss of more than 100 Scottish jobs, according to administrators.

Though several investors are thought to have expressed an interest in the company, production at the New McCowans plant was suspended last month. Other group operations – Thornycroft warehousing and Devon-based Bristows fudge making – have also closed, with total job losses across the group put at around 185.

The company was sold to Nestle in the 1960s and was the subject of a management buyout in the late 1980s before being bought by Dutch company Phideas in the mid 1990s. There was another management buyout in 2003, and in 2004 a £125,000 Regional Selective Assistance Grant was awarded for an expansion project. Administrators Grant Thornton says the company would continue to look “at all potential options”.