Yearsley Group buys seafood specialist Ice Pak

FROZEN food company Yearsley Group has bought Leeds-based competitor Ice Pak Seafood Specialists for an undisclosed sum.

Heywood-based Yearsley Group, which has just filed accounts showing a 51% increase in pre-tax profits to £5.3m (2010: £3.5m) despite a 10% drop in sales to £126.9m, is a frozen food and cold storage logistics specialist.

It has two divisions – Yearsley Food Sales wholesales a full range of frozen food products, supplying retailers, caterers and institutions such as schools and hospitals.
The cold storage and logistics division, meanwhile, is the UK’s largest provider of temperature-controlled stores and distribution services, operating from 12 depots nationwide with a fleet of more than 300 vehicles.

Yearsley Group said that Ice Pak will be incorporated into the Yearsley Food Sales division, complementing the current product range by offering seafood-based product lines to existing customers.

The move will also enable the Yearsley Food Sales to enter new market areas. Ice Pak is a seafood specialist supplying frozen food to wholesalers and restaurants across the UK from its cold stores in Leeds and at Middleton, north Manchester. Its last filed accounts for the year to March 31 2010 show a turnover of almost £33m but a pre-tax loss of £251,000.

Founders Tony and Alan Cantrill, who set up the business in 1983, will continue to work with Yearsley Group sales director Ian King over the next few months to help ensure a smooth transition.

Harry Yearsley, managing director of Yearsley Group, said: “We are delighted to announce the acquisition of Ice Pak. It strengthens our share of the frozen food sales market and, as there are very few crossovers in terms of customer base and product range, the opportunities to grow the business are huge.”

Tony Cantrill said: “We have spent almost 30 years building up this business and are pleased to see it being taken forward as part of a well-respected and growing national frozen food supplier.”

Yearsley Group was advised by Manchester law firms Pannone and Goodman Harvey. The vendors were advised by Leeds-based Clarion Solicitors and by accountancy firm Mazars.