New Sara Lee owners Klark and Brooke Quinn meet staff at Lisarow factory

Klark and Brooke Quinn are the new owners of dessert manufacturer Sara Lee. (ABC Central Coast: Keira Proust)

The new owners of dessert manufacturer Sara Lee say they intend to stick around for the “long run”.

Australians Klark and Brooke Quinn received the keys to the Lisarow factory on the New South Wales Central Coast on Monday.

Sara Lee went into voluntary administration in October last year, owing creditors $55 million.

Mr Quinn said the Quinn family intended to run Sara Lee long into the future.

“Brooke and I are only 40, plus or minus,” he said.

“We’re here for the long term.”

It is not the first time the family has come to the rescue of an Australian brand.

The Quinn family also bought confectionery maker Darrell Lea when it went into voluntary administration in 2012.

They sold the company five years later, although Mr Quinn said that was not their original intention.

“Due to family circumstances and so on, that was the result,” he said.

The couple met with staff at Lisarow’s factory on Tuesday and said it was clear the workforce was passionate about keeping the company local.

“Sara Lee does not exist without its 200 workforce,” Mr Quinn said.

“A lot of these guys have been here for 40-plus years … they’ve given their whole lives to Sara Lee.”

Some debt won’t be repaid

Despite the sale, about $9 million will not be repaid to some unsecured creditors, many of whom are small businesses on the Central Coast.

Mr Quinn said while he sympathised with those businesses, they were focused on moving forward and were committed to working with local suppliers.

“The best thing we can do is continue being in business here in Lisarow,” he said.

“We had no say in what happened in the past.

“One thing I can say is that we’ll be working directly with our suppliers to form really strong bonds.”

Peace of mind for workers

The factory at Lisarow was established in 1971.

Many of the staff have seen the company change hands several times over the years.

June Schembri, who has worked as a pastry specialist for 27 years, said it had been hard for workers over the past couple of months.

“It did put a lot of stress on a lot of us with families and mortgages and everything else,” she said.

“But with everyone here together we are like a family so we had each other’s back and supported each other through that.”

She said workers were expecting to face more challenges as the new owners took the reigns, but felt confident the business would remain a Central Coast institution.

“It’ll be for the best,” she said.

“We’ve got through all the other changes so I think this one will be fine for all of us.”