up is to acquire the chilled savoury pastry business of Kerry Foods in Spalding and Poole.The acquisition will incorporate Kerry Foods’ manufacturing assets at Poole, Dorset, and Spalding, Lincolnshire, into Pork Farms, creating a new company that will trade under the Pork Farms Group name.
The new company will be led by Pork Farms’ existing management team, with Chris Peters as group managing director and Gareth Voyle remaining the chairman.
Chris Peters, group managing director of Pork Farms Group, said: “This acquisition is an extremely exciting next step for our business. It will provide our customers with a streamlined, more responsive and better invested supply chain, reflecting the increasingly competitive retail landscape that we are seeing in today’s market as consumers’ shopping habits change.”
“Over the last seven years, Pork Farms has developed a track record for innovation and quality. This move helps us to build on this, allowing us to make further investment in production facilities, R&D and innovation. This will expand the quality and range of products available to all our customers, and will provide new opportunities for our employees.”
The new Pork Farms Group employs 2,554 people and produces chilled savoury foods including pork pies, sausage rolls, quiche and savoury flans, Scotch eggs, and savoury slices and pies. The transaction includes Kerry Foods’ manufacturing, warehouse and back office support functions at its Spalding and Poole sites.
The Group will continue to manufacture and distribute all Pork Farms branded products.
Andy Rich, Partner at Vision Capital, said: “This transaction builds on the solid trading progress seen within Pork Farms over the last seven years and will enable the combined Group to expand its product range and better serve its customers.
"We look forward to working alongside management as the business moves into this next stage of development.”
The financial details of the transaction are not disclosed.
