Iconic frozen dessert brand Sara Lee has announced that it has gone into voluntary administration. FTI Consulting has been appointed as the administrator of the company. Sara Lee has been manufacturing frozen cheesecakes, crumbles, pies, and other desserts in Australia for over 50 years, with manufacturing commencing in Lisarow, NSW, in 1971.

The news comes just two years after Sara Lee’s business interests in Australia were purchased from McCain Foods by New Zealand-based investor group South Island Office for around $95 million. The business currently trades under the name Sara Lee under licence from the global owner of the trademark and operates across Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East, and South East Asia.

The administrators are seeking to restructure and sell the business while operations continue.

“Sara Lee is an iconic brand which produces quality Australian-made products from its manufacturing facility in Lisarow NSW, where it employs some 200 staff,” Vaughan Strawbridge, one of the appointed administrators from FTI Consulting, said in a statement.

“We are working with Sara Lee’s management team and staff to continue operations while we secure the future of the business. We are immediately commencing a process to sell or restructure the business and continue its long history of manufacturing in Australia.”

Vaughan indicated that FTI Consulting anticipates that the business will attract a lot of interest from prospective buyers.

“We expect a lot of interest in the business and will work with those parties and stakeholders to achieve an outcome soon as possible to secure the ongoing business and provide clarity to its loyal and committed staff and customers,” he said.