Private equity firm PAI Partners has acquired the Addo Food Group and Winterbotham Darby with a view to merging the two businesses to create a leading chilled food supplier.
Addo, which was owned by investment firm LDC, specialises in chilled savoury pastry products with brands such as Pork Farms, Wall’s and Bowyer’s. Meanwhile, Winterbotham Darby, whose owner was PE firm Equistone, makes continental meats, olives and antipasti. Both have experienced strong growth in recent years supplying own label and branded products to grocery retailers and the foodservice sector.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed but the two combined business currently have a turnover of more than £500m.
PAI said the management teams, led by Deborah Bolton CEO of Addo and Steven Higginson CEO of Winterbotham Darby, will remain in place, with the operations of the two businesses continuing to be run separately. However, the private equity firm plans to bring the two businesses together under one platform, with both management teams sharing best-practices, NPD and supply chain initiatives.
Colm O’Sullivan, Partner at PAI Partners, commented: “We are delighted to be investing in these two leading UK chilled food businesses and very excited to start working with the existing management teams to continue to grow their businesses and support them in doing what they do best – delivering innovative, high quality products to consumers.”
Paul Monk, Executive Chairman of the newly formed platform, added: “By bringing Addo and Winterbotham Darby together, there is a genuine opportunity to create the best added value chilled foods company in the UK. That is certainly our ambition and I am delighted to have the support of PAI Partners in pursuing this objective.”
PAI Partners, which is headquartered in France, has invested in a raft of food and drink companies in recent years, including Refresco, Froneri and Wessanen.
