Acquisition to boost Meadow’s turnover to £280m

TURNOVER at food producer Meadow Foods should top £280m next year, it emerged today.

The £3.5m acquisition in May of Nene Valley Foods, from ailing rival Dairy Farmers of Britain, added £36.6m to the Cheshire-based group’s sales.

Newly-filed accounts for the group show that the Meadow also acquired assets of £1.5m  with the purchase of Nene Valley.

Meadow, which employs 250 people, operates in three key markets – cream, sweetened dairy products and milk supply and balancing.

The food ingredients it produces are sold to leading food manufacturers across the country for use in everything from ready meals and chocolate bars to soups and sauces.

The accounts reveal that director Norman Oldmeadow, one of the founders of the company, and managing director Paul Deakin, a former Manchester corporate financier, shared a £305,000 pay off after stepping down from their executive roles.

As reported in May,  Meadow Food Holdings Ltd declared a profit of £4m on turnover of £246m. Profits were down from £5m as margins were squeezed.

In their report to the accounts the directors described the figures as “satisfactory”, and added:” We have a clear strategy for long term future growth. By working closely with the farming community we are continuing to grow our milk field.

“This combined with ongoing investment in our processing facilities and unrivalled market knowledge means we can offer our customers secure supplies in a dynamic and ever-changing market.”