'Business was good until bank let me down'

Tim Morton's best efforts to keep catering firm Morton's Fork alive were scuppered when his bank declined to help his rescue efforts.

The company '“ which had run the catering at the Rolls Royce factory in Goodwood since it opened seven years ago '“ was put into financial liquidation on Friday, January 23.

He said the response of Barclays Bank to his troubles made a mockery of the government's promise that the banks would continue to lend as they did before the credit crunch.

He wanted the bank to extend his company's loan, under a government-backed small business scheme, to ensure enough cash for the winter and allow marketing to win new work.

The deal he put forward also reduced his company's unsecured borrowing with the bank from 45,000 to 18,750 to make him confident of its support.

"After all, they had supported the company in worse times... so there should be no issue, should there? I had created a plan to grow a profitable company, without major input from me, due to my health issues, and building on the solid business base my company retained," he said.

"After weeks of trying to contact the bank, the answer finally came on a Friday just before Christmas with the news that the loan was rejected and the overdraft was being stopped that Sunday."

Mr Morton and his manager, Andrea Green, managed to ensure the staff were paid that week and secured some cash flow to keep his firm alive.

Barclays also gave a small overdraft until the end of January but refused any more help.

During most of these negotiations, Mr Morton was in hospital as a result of suffering from enteric neuropathy '“ a very rare incurable degenerative, neuromuscular disease of the digestive system. But he was still able to do enough to compile a viable plan to see Morton's Fork return to its heyday.

Mr Morton (39), of London Road, founded Morton's Fork in 1998. It grew to an annual turnover of 3.5m after five years and 50 full time staff.

But his illness caused him to retire and the firm moved out of the lucrative sporting and hospitality work.

Its likely turnover for its final full year of operation is expected to have been about 1m with 70,000 profit.

That might have dipped further this year but Mr Morton had bid for three new contracts to boost income after he had achieved the international quality mark ISO 90001:2000 for its quality control.

Barclay's actions stopped that occurring. Mr Morton's attempts to ensure a hand-over of his operation at Rolls Royce, and his 12 staff who worked there, collapsed in spite of his talks with the car firm appearing hopeful until the last minute to leave him angry at its approach.

A spokesman for liquidators, Atherton Bailey, said a combination of the credit crunch and Mr Morton's ill health had contributed to the downfall of Morton's Fork.

Rolls Royce hired a chip van to fill the gap left by its loss. It said it was looking for a long-term solution to feed its workforce.

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