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REPORT
2026 Private Equity AI Radar
Sara Lee Holdings Pty Ltd (“Sara Lee”), the internationally renowned manufacturer of frozen desserts and baked goods sold throughout Australia and New Zealand, operated from a single manufacturing facility located at Lisarow, New South Wales. The company faced numerous external concerns following the COVID-19 pandemic, including longer lead times for international supplies, rising logistics costs, the liquidation of a key cold store provider and the loss of a major supplier for one of its core product lines. These issues contributed to increased operations costs at a time when the business was already facing stagnant revenue growth, ongoing liquidity challenges and a high debt burden. In October 2023, Sara Lee’s Board of Directors appointed FTI Consulting experts Vaughan Strawbridge, Joseph Hansell and Kathryn Evans as Voluntary Administrators (“Administrators”).
In January 2024, FTI Consulting reached an agreement on sale terms with the CJ Quinn Group, thereby successfully concluding external administration on 12 February 2024.
More than 200 jobs at the Lisarow facility were preserved, with employee entitlements maintained and those who resigned or were terminated receiving full payouts.
Secured creditors received returns ranging from 35 cents to 100 cents in the dollar having regard to priority arrangements.
More than AU$4 million of unsecured creditor claims were paid to the Personal Property Securities Register and Creditors of Necessity.
Operations at Sara Lee’s Lisarow, New South Wales facility continued uninterrupted during the nearly four-month voluntary administration process while FTI Consulting restructured the business and workforce.
In the period leading up to the Administrators’ appointment, the company’s cash flow pressures not only impacted day-to-day operations, but also prevented the business from putting in place planned structural reforms and initiatives, such as new product development, conducting capital works and fully implementing planned marketing and promotional programs.
The Administrators stabilised operations and prioritised communication with employees, unions, suppliers and customers.
Our team launched a campaign to sell or recapitalise the business while working with Sara Lee staff to manage daily operations and prepare realistic cashflow forecasts that were better matched to operational requirements.
FTI Consulting experts engaged in complex negotiations that included Sara Lee’s intellectual property in the sale process, ensuring that the business could be sold as a going concern.
Everyone knows that Sara Lee is an iconic brand. But it’s hard to convey the sheer scale of the operations at risk. We moved 1,000 pallets of finished goods a week, had 200+ employees and a brand that the Australian consumer knew and loved — that’s what was really at stake.
See why FTI Consulting is the leading global expert firm for organizations facing crisis and transformation.
See how our expert-driven, industry-focused approach produces real results in an increasingly complex world.
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