Food group acquired in tasty £60m deal

A Worcestershire food company has been acquired by Thai investors in a deal worth around £60m.

CPF Investment Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Charoen Pokphand Foods, has invested the money in Malvern-based Westbridge Food Group.

WFGL specialises in the development, sourcing and supply of products across many food groups on a world-wide basis, including raw, coated, part and fully cooked proteins, desserts, vegetables and party food.

It supplies meat and ready-made products to customers in the retail, food service and food manufacturing sectors both in the UK and Europe.

Formed in 1998, Westbridge group also has operations in Haydock, Bangkok and Qingdao, China.

WFGL invests in 117 companies in the UK and 16 companies in the Netherlands which have import quota licenses for the import of poultry and poultry products to the EU.

In 2015, WFGL recorded a total revenue of £343m (THB14.73bn) with net profit of £4.03m (THB 173m).

Adirek Sripratak, chairman of the executive committee of CPF, said the investment in WFGL would allow CPF to expand its retail, food services and food manufacturing distribution networks in the UK and the high growth potential EU countries.

WFGL’s products mainly involve chicken, shrimp, fish and processed foods which are in line with CPF’s offering.