UK fish and seafood supplier plunges into liquidation – open 30 years | UK | News
A UK-based seafood supplier has gone into liquidation 30 years after its founding. Cheek House Ltd was founded in February 1996 and has spent the intervening decades selling fish, crustaceans and molluscs to specialist retailers across Europe. The firm, which lists England, Spain, France and Switzerland as important trading bases, has registered offices in Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire.
Liquidators from Wilkin Chapman LLP were appointed to the business as part of a voluntary liquidation process on 28 April, The Gazette reported. The decision to enter into creditors’ voluntary liquidation (CVL) was taken following a meeting last month; This is a procedure that usually involves company managers trying to liquidate debts when they cannot be paid.
Cheek House Ltd was founded in 1981 by Mike Welburn, who started working as a barrow boy on the Hull docks at the age of 15 before moving his family to Grimsby to become a manager at the Lincolnshire town’s North Wall.
After being laid off in 1991, he started his own fishing tour and used the money to start his business.
Data from the Insolvency Service shows that the number of company insolvencies rose by 7% month-on-month to 2,022 in March, while company voluntary arrangements (CVA) also doubled to 20.
Meanwhile, between February and March, the number of administrations increased by 52% to 235, 82% higher than in March 2025; compulsory liquidations increased by 18%.
Sarah Rayment, co-chairman of global risk consultancy Kroll, warned that fuel and transport costs were increasing the pressure on businesses of all sizes, coupled with huge increases in wage bills.
“As we saw after the start of the Ukrainian war, rising fuel prices had a direct impact on logistics, transportation and distribution businesses,” he said.
“There are already large companies saying they will have no choice but to pass the costs on to customers. This is much more challenging for small and medium-sized companies and could unfortunately sideline many companies.”
Cheek House Ltd and Wilkin Chapman LLP have been contacted for comment.
