A popular UK food company is all set to close its doors permanently after it filed for voluntary liquidation. Fresha Ltd, based on the Sowton Industrial Estate has been providing meals for more than 20 years, employs about 95 staff and has catering contracts with schools, police, healthcare and other organisations across the Devon.

The company managed catering for the G7 summit of world leaders in Cornwall in 2021. Started by Paul Banks, who is now its managing director, the company has been experiencing a downfall with cost base of the company going up by 50 percent in the last five years. Mr Banks said he was “incredibly sad” to shut the business. He said that decision had been taken against increasingly difficult trading conditions and government policies which made it almost impossible to operate.

In a heartfelt statement he said: “After 22 years, I’ve made the incredibly difficult decision to close the doors on Fresha. And if I’m honest, that feels both incredibly sad and strangely right at the same time.

“The decision to close hasn’t come lightly. The challenges across our industry over recent years have been relentless, and despite every effort, it became clear that continuing would only make things harder for everyone involved.

“So, I’ve chosen to close the business while we can still do it properly, paying our team, paying our suppliers, and finishing with integrity. That mattered to me more than anything.

“Right now, my focus is on saying thank you and goodbye to so many incredible people who have been part of this journey. After that, I’m going to take some time with my wife and our two sons, to slow down, to reflect, and to enjoy the moments that often get missed when you’re building something for so long.”

Fresha started in 2004. Paul delivered sandwiches and buffets from a van. He continued: “Over the years, Fresha grew into something far bigger than I originally planned, with an annual turnover in excess of £4 million,” he said. “From our base in Sowton, to cafés, food vans, and our central kitchen, but more importantly, to a team of brilliant, hardworking, loyal people who made it all possible.

“We’ve had some incredible experiences, feeding NHS patients, supporting the police, fire service and ambulance teams, working at Exeter Racecourse, hosting speed awareness courses, which, for someone who once had nine points on their licence, felt like a nice bit of irony. And catering for the G7. I still look back at those 10 days in 2021 with huge pride, serving over 32,000 meals to the people behind the scenes.

“But if I’m honest, the part I’m most proud of came from something very simple. In 2015, my eldest son came home from school and told me the food wasn’t good enough and asked if we could do better. That one conversation changed everything. It led us into schools, where over the next 10 years we worked with more than 50 schools, serving thousands of children every day. For many of those children, that meal was the most important one of their day and we never lost sight of that responsibility.

“By 2024, Fresha had grown to over 90 employees, serving around 6,000 hot meals a day across Devon. But what I will always remember isn’t the numbers, it’s the shared belief that what we were doing mattered. This isn’t just the end of a business. It’s the end of a chapter I’ll always be proud of.”