William Sinclair said today that it needed "significant progress towards a funding solution in the next few weeks", as it revealed a half-year slump in sales and profit.
Revenue at the growing media supplier for the six months to March 31 2015 fell to £18.7m from £21.8m in the same period last year, while operating loss after exceptional items grew to £8.0m from £3.1m. Pre-tax loss increased to £9.0m from £3.7m.

Sinclair has been hit by a number of issues in recent years, most recently, initial supply problems resulting from the commissioning of its new plant at Ellesmere Port.

A month ago, the company announced that as part of a restructure it was closing three sites and shedding over 100 jobs as it looked to consolidate its English operations at Ellesmere Port.

Today, chairman Rupert King said the company had been "through massive changes associated with the installation and commissioning of the plant at Ellesmere Port. The commissioning was considerably more challenging than expected and this led to a loss of business predominantly on the professional side as we were unable to service our customers at times.

"Sales were also lost on the retail side in part because of customer uncertainty about security of supply and service levels in Ellesmere Port's first season. Margins have also been weak as the company has had to defend its business in some areas."

He said product quality and service levels had now improved.

But he went on: "With the significant capital and operating costs of Ellesmere Port during its commissioning phase, the performance has led to a significant funding requirement for the business.

"Stuart Burgin and Sheryl Tye have been appointed as CEO and interim CFO respectively to lead the turnaround. They are both experienced operators with strong track records managing companies going through significant change."

He said the company was considering strategic options "and a number of indications of interest have been received. The board is continuing discussions with the counter-parties. The company is also arranging meetings with major stakeholders and other potential investors to establish the market appetite for a significant share placing.

"Significant progress towards a funding solution is needed in the next few weeks and there can be no certainty as to the outcome of any of these discussions."

He concluded: "Provided we can raise the required funding William Sinclair can continue to be a significant player in the horticulture market."