Devon-based craft bakery The Almond Thief has ceased trading and closed its sites in Dartington and Totnes, with liquidators appointed.
A statement of affairs filed on Companies House earlier this month showed the company had racked up debts of over £114k including £22,727 in unpaid tax, a Bounce Back loan of £34,767 at Barclays Bank, and £30,493 owed to various trade creditors.
Joint liquidators Samuel Biley and Jonathan Trembath from insolvency firm Richard J Smith & Co estimated just £12,346 in total assets to be available for preferential creditors, such as holiday pay for the bakery’s 19 employees.
A statement from the joint liquidators on behalf of The Almond Thief revealed that several attempts had been made to sell the business in 2024 and early this year, but with new buyers not materialising the directors had made the decision in February 2025 to enter liquidation. Contributing factors to the closure were the loans taken out as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and also general profitability issues in recent years, added the liquidators.
The Almond Thief was founded in 2014 by former biologist Dan Mifsud, and named after his Maltese grandfather who used to pilfer nuts in his youth. It grew to operate three retail sites for a time, although the third shop in Plymouth was subsequently rebranded to a restaurant called The Ope and run as a separate business.
The craft bakery specialised in sourdough loaves and pastries made using locally grown heritage and population wheat, milled by Misfud himself through his company Dartington Mill. This was established in 2020 through partnerships with local farmers Bob Mehew, Marina O’Connell, and Jon Perkins, who are all based within a few miles of the bakery.
Companies House filings for Dartington Mill show that Misfud was terminated from his role as a director on 20 March 2025, along with O’Connell and Sophy Harrison-Allen, who was also a director at The Almond Thief.
Requests for comment made to The Almond Thief were left unanswered. Most recent financial accounts for the bakery business reported a £49k loss for the year to 30 November 2023, following a £72k loss in FY22.
Trading challenges saw another Devon-based craft bakery chain, The Crusty Cob, close all nine of its shops in March of this year, although it later began looking to sell its assets out of liquidation.
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