Northampton-based frozen food distributor Central Foods has been sold to a national food producer and wholesaler, Gressingham Group.
Central Foods has revenues of over £50m and has firmly established itself as a key independent supplier of brand and own-brand frozen food to the UK hospitality industry since it was founded in 1996. Its customers include Bidfood, Brakes, Whitbread and Greene King.
It has been purchased by Suffolk-headquartered Gressingham Group, owner of the retail brand Gressingham duck, as well as well-known wholesale foodservice specialists including Reids of Norwich, JF Edwards, and Peter Thomson Group.
MHA’s corporate finance team was the lead adviser to Central Foods throughout the sale process, which included identifying potential partners both in the UK and internationally who were capable of protecting Central Foods’ customer relationships and team culture, while enabling the shareholders to meet their personal objectives. MHA’s advisory role also involved commercial and tax advice.
Gressingham Group was selected as a partner due to its alignment with Central Foods’ values and culture as well as its market reputation.
For Gressingham Group, the acquisition complements its growing offering in the UK food sector and Central Foods’ founders, Gordon and Alison Lauder, will remain involved in the business as existing staff step into new management roles to ensure the company’s continued success.
Gordon and Alison Lauder, founders, Central Foods, said: “We believed it would be a challenging brief to identify a partner which would complement Central Foods’ business, safeguard our culture, and offer security and progression opportunities for our staff.
“MHA’s guidance to prepare for the transaction was comprehensive, and the targeted process the team delivered yielded options which meant we could focus on selecting the best partner for Central Foods.
“We placed our trust in the MHA team who consistently provided incisive commercial advice and hands-on support with detailed aspects of the negotiation. The MHA team’s proactive communication and collaborative approach was fundamental to ensuring we reached this significant milestone.”
James Lawson, partner at MHA Corporate Finance, and MHA’s lead on the transaction, said: “Our process garnered interest from a number of potential strategic acquirers on an international basis, however Gressingham Group’s complementary UK market reputation and similar culture set it apart.
“It’s heartening to know we have helped deliver a transaction which enables the founders to achieve their personal objectives and we are certain this new partnership will see Central Foods and Gressingham Group continue to go from strength to strength.”
William Buchanan, director, Gressingham Group, said: “We are excited to bring Central Foods into Gressingham Group.
“The business opens up a new market category for us and its reputation for excellent products and service complements our existing presence in the foodservice sector. We look forward to continuing to make frozen food wholesalers’ lives easier.”
