A HIGHLANDS-based seafood and game supplier whose clients include Michelin-starred restaurants has gone into voluntary liquidation.

All nine staff have been made redundant at Coast and Glen after the company ran into unsustainable cash flow difficulties caused by rising costs, intense competition and low margins.

The business, which operated fish processing, packaging and kiln-smoking facilities in Alness , and recently acquired a 2,600 sq ft factory in Muir of Ord, had grown rapidly in recent years. It specialised in supplying hotels and restaurants with produce landed by independent fishing boats.

Founded in 2011 by Magnus Houston, who in 2017 won the rising star category in the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Awards, Coast and Glen had been turning over £1.4 million, with a customer base stretching from Orkney to Devon.

Liquidator Iain Fraser at FRP Advisory said the business has ceased trading and is seeking a buyer for the assets.

Mr Fraser said: “Coast and Glen was a progressive, entrepreneurial business that had grown rapidly and was rolling out ambitious expansion plans.

“However, the business ran into financial problems and liquidation was the only available option. Unfortunately, all nine staff have been made redundant with immediate effect and we are working closely with the relevant agencies to ensure they receive as much support as possible.”

Mr Houston has been expanding into direct sales to consumers through a separate business, FishBox. That company, which offers consumers a next-day delivery service, is not understood to have been affected by events at Coast and Glen.