UK market leader Young’s Seafood has been bought out by a major international investor with strong food interests.
CapVest Partners LLP, owner of pork specialist Karro Food Group, has swooped for the £545 million turnover Grimsby-headquartered giant in an undisclosed deal.
The union creates what is described as a “multi-protein food group with significant potential for further growth”.
Karro, which turneed over £638 million in 2018, and Young’s will operate as two separate businesses within the enlarged group. Both serve major supermarkets as white label suppliers, with the seafood giant having a major branded presence too.
Di Walker, current executive chair of Karro - a role she has held for the past six years - has been appointed chief executive of the enlarged entity.
She said: “We are very excited about the opportunity to create an ambitious multi-protein food business of considerable scale. Young’s and Karro are highly complementary businesses and the combined platform will have strong market positions in two important protein categories that are experiencing consistent long-term growth. Today’s agreement will provide both businesses with the opportunity to further develop and broaden our relationships with our key partners.”
CapVest has owned Karro since March 2017. Headquartered in Malton, North Yorkshire, it has major bacon and gammon operation in Scunthorpe, less than 30 miles from the Grimsby home of Young's, further processing in Hull, as well as farms in Scotland and interests in Suffolk and Northern Ireland.
The new group will have a strong market presence in the pork and chilled and frozen seafood markets, and will have sales of circa £1.2 billion and employ over 5,000 people across the UK and Ireland. It is roughly a 40/60 split between Young’s and Karro, with the former employing more than 2,000 people.
It follows the £81 million acquisition of Grimsby seafood rival Seachill by Cambridgeshire-based Hilton Food Group in 2017. Both are major suppliers to Tesco.
Young's serves Asda and Sainsbury's, as well as Marks and Spencer, and many other high street names.
Bill Showalter, chief executive of Young’s, said: “We are delighted to be moving forward with Karro and CapVest and we believe this move will be positive for the fish and seafood industry as a whole.
"With CapVest’s existing understanding of our industry, and as part of a multi-protein food group, we will have the opportunity to inspire more consumers to love fish through our fresh, frozen, own-label and branded products. The transaction will build an even stronger foundation from which we can drive growth, providing exceptional quality fish and stand out innovation to countries around the world.”
Lion broke up the operation in 2015, striking a £500 million deal to sell the European arm of Findus to Birds Eye-owner Nomad Foods, leaving it with the Young's operation in the UK. The dedicated seafood business, operated in fresh and frozen markets, was a fusion of Ross Group and Bluecrest, a spin off created by the late Frank Flear OBE, bringing in further acquisitions along the way.
Much has been consolidated in Grimsby, with the iconic Dock Tower part of the masterbrand on all packaging and a long-running shirt sponsorship deal with Grimsby Town FC, but there are further operations spread across Scotland.
Young's has been openly marketed for the past 18 months, with levels of historic debt seen as a slight albatross to strong operating figures, bolstered in recent quarters. It has also significantly expanded its largest facility in Grimsby, creating a manufacturing centre of excellence with better logistics.
Transactional finance details have not been revealed.
Jason Rodrigues, partner at CapVest, said: “CapVest believe strongly that the combination of Young’s and Karro will create a differentiated and attractive multi-protein platform. We look forward to working closely with management to accelerate investment and strengthen the competitive position of each business, whilst also pursuing other acquisition-led growth opportunities.”
