Leicester popcorn manufacturer sold to national snack brand

Leicester snack manufacturer Savoury & Sweet has been bought by Plymouth-based crisp maker Burts Chips.

Savoury & Sweet, which is behind the Lord Popington popcorn brand, will be rebranded to Burt Snacks after the deal is completed, with Burts saying it will triple production at the Leicester site, which currently employs 99 people.

Savoury & Sweet also makes the Popcorn & Me brand.

Burts managing director David Nairn said: “The Burts business has grown significantly over the last five years, from £11.4min 2013 to an anticipated £37m post-acquisition for 2017. While impressive, our ambition is to drive the business to over £100m in the next five years to become the UK’s biggest player within premium snacking. While organic growth of our existing operation in Plymouth is a big part of this and anticipated to reach £70m, acquisitions of like-minded and complementary businesses will help us accelerate our expansion.”