Inglewood Farms, the nation’s largest organic chicken producer, has entered into receivership.
The company, which is a subsidiary of RM Williams Agricultural Holdings, is reported to owe around $60m to the Westpac Bank.
PPB Advisory, the appointed receivers, said that their appointment was due to notification by the company’s directors that they were intending to resign, the Weekly Times Now reports.
"This occurred after Inglewood Farms shareholders indicated that they would not provide additional funding to support the company's ongoing operations," PPB said in a statement.
"This forced the company's secured creditor to appoint receivers and managers to facilitate and maintain the ongoing operations.
"In addition to the lack of funding support, the receivers have been notified that the shareholders have sought to withdraw use of the RM Williams brand by Inglewood Farms."
Stephen Parbery of PPB said that his first priority was to ensure that the business continued operations while the review was being undertaken.
"We are working with a number of stakeholders to try to secure the future of the business," he said.
Inglewood Farms holds an 80 percent share in the organic poultry market and currently employees over 100 people.
The receivership of Inglewood follows recent troubles with parent company, RM Williams Agricultural Holdings, who also entered into administration earlier this month.