> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://entrepreneurplus.co.uk/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Jones Food Company - URL: https://entrepreneurplus.co.uk/graveyard/jones-food-company/ - Published: 2026-10-21T11:11:28.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-21T11:30:03.000Z - Description: Ocado-backed vertical farmer; administration Apr 2025, 61 redundancies, sites marketed - Author: Editorial Desk - Tags: #ep-grave ✝ Startup · Administration · 7 April 2025 Ocado-backed vertical farmer; administration Apr 2025, 61 redundancies, sites marketed Companies House [10504047](https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/10504047?ref=entrepreneurplus.co.uk) · In Administration How it ended Administration Ended 7 April 2025 Founded 2016 Sector Food & Agritech Based in Elsewhere in the UK Funding raised £4.9M + £25M + £3.65M Backed by Ocado Group, Guinness Asset Management Last known website [jonesfoodcompany.co.uk](https://www.jonesfoodcompany.co.uk/?ref=entrepreneurplus.co.uk) Last checked 21 October 2026 ## What happened Jones Food Company grew herbs and leafy greens in large indoor vertical farms. Founded by James Lloyd-Jones and incorporated in November 2016, it opened JFC1 in Scunthorpe in 2018, then billed as Europe's largest vertical farm and a major UK supplier of cut basil, and in 2023–24 opened JFC2, a £23.5m facility at Lydney in Gloucestershire, plus an innovation centre in Bristol. Ocado Group took a 58% stake in 2019 and later increased it to a majority holding; the company also raised a £25m round in 2021 and a further £3.65m in 2023\. Its accounts recorded continuing operating losses and reliance on shareholder support, and directors had flagged the need for more funding. Production stopped and the doors closed on 7 April 2025, when Damian Webb and Stephanie Sutton of RSM UK were appointed joint administrators; 61 staff were made redundant and 11 kept on while the business and assets were marketed. ## Why - Could not raise the next round - Hardware capex before product-market fit ## What happened to the assets, customers and team RSM UK's administrators closed both farms, made 61 staff redundant and retained 11 to maintain the sites while seeking a buyer for the business or assets. The administration was extended in March 2026 and progress reports were filed in November 2025 and May 2026; no completed sale had been reported in the sources reviewed. ## In their words > The company has built a state-of-the-art vertical farming facility with a highly skilled workforce. > > Damian Webb, partner and joint administrator, RSM UK · [source](https://www.just-food.com/news/vertical-farming-business-jones-food-placed-into-administration?ref=entrepreneurplus.co.uk) > There is a great opportunity for a purchaser to build on the investment to date to take the business forward. > > Damian Webb, partner and joint administrator, RSM UK · [source](https://www.just-food.com/news/vertical-farming-business-jones-food-placed-into-administration?ref=entrepreneurplus.co.uk) ## Lessons Capital-intensive vertical farming needed repeated external funding to cover operating losses, and when the majority shareholder stopped increasing its commitment the business had no route to profitability at scale. The failure tracked a wider sector pattern (Plenty, AeroFarms, Kalera, AppHarvest). ## Sources 1. [find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk](https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/10504047?ref=entrepreneurplus.co.uk) 2. [find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk](https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/10504047/filing-history?ref=entrepreneurplus.co.uk) 3. [thegazette.co.uk](https://www.thegazette.co.uk/notice/4864329?ref=entrepreneurplus.co.uk) 4. [just-food.com](https://www.just-food.com/news/vertical-farming-business-jones-food-placed-into-administration?ref=entrepreneurplus.co.uk) 5. [hortidaily.com](https://hortidaily.com/article/9722588/jones-food-company-enters-administration-halts-operations-at-uk-vertical-farms?ref=entrepreneurplus.co.uk) 6. [archive.foodbev.com](https://archive.foodbev.com/news/ocado-invests-17m-in-vertical-farming-forms-new-joint-venture/?ref=entrepreneurplus.co.uk) 7. [businesswest.co.uk](https://www.businesswest.co.uk/blog/blog-posts/jones-food-company-brings-most-advanced-vertical-farm-to-the-forest-of-dean/?ref=entrepreneurplus.co.uk) ✓ Verified by EP+ Every Graveyard entry is checked against Companies House and the sources above, and re-checked periodically. Spotted an error or a company that has been rescued? [Tell us](mailto:info@entrepreneurplus.co.uk?subject=Graveyard%20correction%3A%20Jones%20Food%20Company). [← The Graveyard](https://entrepreneurplus.co.uk/graveyard/)