A potato packing company is to close by the end of the month after bosses decided to move operations to Cambridgeshire and Scotland.

Staff at Kent Potato Company agreed to end a 45-day consultation on job losses early to give them more time to search for new work.

Produce Investments, the London Stock Exchange-listed owner of the firm, revealed the firm was under threat last month as it announced a fall in operating profits from £11.1 million to £8 million this year amid “challenging market conditions”.

In a brief statement, bosses paid tribute to staff at the plant in St Nicholas-at-Wade, near Birchington, for “the extremely professional manner in which they have conducted themselves throughout this difficult process”.

The Kent Potato Company, formerly known as St. Nicholas Court Farms, was purchased by the Jersey Royal Company in 2009.

“With this reduction in volume the company is reviewing its packing facilities, aligning capacity to forecast sales and therefore ensuring that the business remains efficient and cost competitive..." - Angus Armstrong, Produce Investments

Then last year that was acquired by Produce Investments, the parent company of Greenvale AP, the UKs leading potato businesses, for £15 million.

However, it decided to close Kent Potato Company after it said supermarket price wars had “triggered significant pricing pressure throughout the entire supply chain”.

Produce Investments chairman Barrie Clapham said: “This coincided with an exceptional growing season in 2014 resulting in high yields for potatoes generating a large over-supply of crop and resultant deflationary pressures.”

At the time, chief executive Angus Armstrong said: “With this reduction in volume the company is reviewing its packing facilities, aligning capacity to forecast sales and therefore ensuring that the business remains efficient and cost competitive.

“This review is also taking into consideration proximity of grower base and procurement requirements and may well lead to the closure of the company’s Kent based packing facility, subject to the outcome of consultation.

“The changing retail environment will no doubt continue to create an even more competitive marketplace with the pace of change not expected to abate.”

The announcement was a kick in the teeth for Kent Potato Company staff, who barely a month before the announcment were celebrating larger orders from Aldi.

It is hoped some Kent Potato Company staff may find jobs at packing facilities in Cambridgeshire and Scotland.

The Produce Investments statement said: “The company will now commence a number of activities to support employees, including the transfer of roles to fill vacancies on other sites and training support.”