Faccenda Foods has entered into an agreement with Lincolnshire-based Cherry Valley Farms for the intended purchase of its duck processing business Cherry Valley Foods.
The deal is expected to be signed off by the end of the year and will see the transfer of the slaughtering/processing/cooking facility at Caistor, the hatchery at Usselby and a number of owned and contracted farms in the area.
“The planned acquisition of Cherry Valley Foods will strengthen Faccenda’s market position as the only UK supplier of chicken, turkey and duck, creating further opportunities for growth in all three sectors across a broader customer base,” said a company statement.
“Between now and the end of December the management teams of both businesses will work closely together to finalise the acquisition and ensure a smooth transition.”
See also: Cherry Valley rebrands to grow market share
Faccenda Foods managing director Andy Dawkins confirmed that, once completed, Cherry Valley Foods would operate as a separate company under the Faccenda Foods umbrella, at least for the foreseeable future.
“I feel very excited that we will be the first integrated business to look after chicken, turkey and duck,” Mr Dawkins told Poultry World. “The world goes full circle and it is good that we will be able to supply all our customers with the full range of poultry proteins.”
Cherry Valley Foods has a current turnover of about £45m, employs some 320 people and processes about seven million ducks a year, primarily for the Chinese restaurant sector. This will be added to Faccenda Food’s £400m turnover business, employing 3,000 people across its UK chicken and turkey operations.
The move follows Faccenda’s acquisition of the Derbyshire-based Cranberry Foods turkey business in 2012. A new £35m, 125,000sq ft poultrymeat processing plant in Telford is also scheduled for completion in 2015.
Cherry Valley Farms – which is Mavis Capital – will concentrate on its international duck genetics and breeding stock operation following completion of the sale.
By Philip Clarke
