SOS Wholesale goes into administration

Derby-based SOS Wholesale has gone into administration.

Vipin Patara is now managing director of The Soft Drinks Company.

Formerly one of the UK’s largest discount delivered wholesalers, SOS Wholesale operated from a 70,000 sq ft warehouse and distribution centre in Derby, with a sales office in Barnsley. Founded in 1996, it supplied a range of 4,500 lines to customers in the UK, and also exported worldwide.

SOS Wholesale’s managing director Vipin Patara and members of her senior management team, along with the full sales and telesales teams, have joined The Soft Drinks Company (TSDC), a delivered wholesaler in Sheffield that offers a 2,000-strong range of confectionery, drinks, snacks and groceries.

Patara has been appointed managing director of The Soft Drinks Company, having served as a director since September 2023. Patara has more than 30 years of experience in the UK food and grocery wholesale sector, including over a decade leading SOS Wholesale.

The strengthened team positions The Soft Drinks Company as ‘one of the UK’s most dynamic, debt-free, and well-capitalised wholesalers, with revenues expected to grow to £40 million in the near term’. According to the wholesaler, customers and suppliers alike will benefit from uninterrupted service, an expanded product offering, and greater operational resilience.

Vipin Patara, managing director of The Soft Drinks Company, commented: “What matters most to me is making sure our valued customers continue to receive improved levels of service and care without disruption. The stability, capital strength, and platform we have at TSDC mean we can not only maintain continuity but also grow with our customers and suppliers in the years ahead.”

Rick Harrison and Howard Smith from Interpath were appointed joint administrators to SOS Wholesale Ltd on 8 September 2025. Interpath commented: “With cashflow and profitability under pressure, the business was unable to meet its financial obligations as they fell due, and so the directors took the difficult decision to place the business into administration.”