The Uddingston-based food importer and distributor, which has ceased trading with the loss of all 17 jobs, was placed into administration following a petition to Hamilton Sheriff Court by its directors.

Scotch Frost, which had traded for over 57 years, supplied high-quality frozen and ambient produce to restaurants and retailers across the UK. It operated from a 33,000 sq ft head office and warehouse at Bothwell Park Industrial Estate in South Lanarkshire.

Thomas McKay, managing partner at Begbies Traynor, explained that after consultation with the firm’s secured creditor in Japan, which acquired the business in 2016, the directors “had no viable way to continue trading”.

“Our first priority is to ensure the employees are given the support and information they need at this difficult time to recover monies due to them from the Redundancy Payments Service,” said Mr McKay.

He added: “We will shortly be marketing the freehold property and plant and machinery for sale, and we welcome enquiries about these assets to maximise the returns for creditors.”

The joint administrators are working with the company’s 17 employees and Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE) to ensure the affected employees receive their full redundancy entitlements.