Aqualife has ceased its operation and all employees were made redundant upon appointment. This has happened before the appointment of Alistair McAlinden and Geoff Jacobs from Interpath as joint administrators. Established in 1996, Aqualife had operated for nearly 30 years, delivering specialist vaccination services to the UK and global aquaculture industry, including salmon farmers, latterly using innovative spider-like robotic technology. Recently, Aqualife had begun outsourcing its assembly operations to improve scalability. However, they had to cease the functions due to the postponement of key orders from Canadian customers and ongoing commercial pressures amidst international tariff uncertainty.
The joint administrators are now focused on winding down the business operations and preparing for a business and asset sale.
Alistair McAlinden, head of Scotland at Interpath and joint administrator of Aqualife Services Ltd., said in a press release: “Aqualife was a pioneer in the use of robotic technology in aquaculture and fish vaccination. It had built a strong reputation for precision and innovation. Unfortunately, the business faced a number of challenges in recent years, including delays to key contracts and increasing financial pressures.”
In this sense, Geoff Jacobs, managing director at Interpath and joint administrator of Aqualife Services Ltd., added: “Our immediate priority is to support impacted employees and to explore options for the sale of the business and its assets. Given the anticipated interest from players in the global aquaculture sector, interested parties are encouraged to contact us as a matter of urgency.”