SHAREHOLDERS in H P Bulmer, Hereford's struggling cider producer, heard time was running out for the company to pay off its massive debt burden and convince bankers it has a future as a private company.

At an extraordinary annual general meeting on Monday, chairman Will Samuels admitted the company had until July to renegotiate loans or be forced to put itself up for sale.

Sell-off plans

Fielding questions on the sale of Bulmer's Australian operation, the likelihood of a sell off and the on-going legal dispute with past directors Mike Hughes and Alan Flockhart, Mr Samuels and new chief executive Miles Templeman admitted the company had made mistakes.

Mr Samuels said: "It is the responsibility of the board for where we find ourselves," adding: "It irks and hurts me to see the good name of Bulmers pulled through the mud."

In his first public meeting with shareholders, Mr Templeman distanced himself from company policy of price discounts on the company's number one brand, Strongbow.

He said: "It is important to raise the profile and appeal of cider.

"Strongbow should not be sold as cheap as it is and it should not be as often on promotion."

With the sale of the company's Australian arm rubber stamped the company is now looking to finalise plans to sell property in Hereford.

Herefordshire Council received an application for planning permission for 59 dwellings on the Bulmers Sports Field on Kings Acre Road, a condition of sale of the property.