Bernard Matthews has insisted it is 'business as usual' despite national newspaper reports of concern over its finances.

Reports at the weekend suggested that the poultry producer had delayed payments to suppliers and told staff it did not have the funds to settle redundancy payments in one sum.

It follows confirmation last month that the company was planning to cut 30 jobs at its bases in Norfolk and Suffolk - a process which is yet to be concluded.

But a spokesman for the EDP Top100 company dismissed the reports, adding: 'Bernard Matthews is a sound, well-run company and it's very much business as usual for the organisation.'

In January, Bernard Matthews posted pre-tax losses of £5.2m for the year to June 28, 2015, though it narrowed losses from the previous year's figure of £9.9m. Sales fell by £30m to £276m.

It launched a turnaround plan in 2013, when specialists Rutland Partners were brought in, and injected more than £20m into the business.

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