Deal sees food group snap up meat supplier
Eight Fifty Food Group, a multi-protein food group controlled by CapVest Partners, has acquired M&M Walshe Holdings for an undisclosed consideration.
M&M Walshe, trading as RibWorld, Callan Bacon and Stirchley Bacon, is a processor and multi-channel supplier of gammon, bacon and sous-vide meat products.
The business employs approximately 550 people across its three sites located in Redditch and in Tipperary and Kilkenny in the Republic of Ireland.
It will be integrated into North Yorkshire-based Eight Fifty’s pork division, with M&M Walshe’s sous-vide products complementing Eight Fifty’s existing customer offering.
Once the transaction is complete, Eight Fifty will have sales of about £1.4bn and will employ more than 7,500 people across 19 sites in the UK and Ireland.
The Walshe family, who have operated M&M Walshe since its foundation in 1981, will remain involved with the business post-transaction.
Di Walker, group chief executive of Eight Fifty Food Group, said: “Eight Fifty have been working with the Walshe and Clohessy families for over 30 years and have seen their business grow significantly to become one of Europe’s largest sous-vide specialists today.
“We’re delighted to welcome M&M Walshe into the Eight Fifty Food Group and look forward to continue growing with them.”
Commenting on behalf of M&M Walshe, John Walshe, said: “The interest shown in our business is a great reflection of the quality of our products, our people and our loyal customer base.
“We look forward to working with Di Walker and the Eight Fifty team and seeing the business flourish under new ownership.”
Jason Rodrigues, Partner at CapVest, said: “M&M Walshe is an exciting first step for Eight Fifty out of the UK, and underlines our ambition to become a market leader in European food.
“We look forward to working closely with management to accelerate investment and leverage the Eight Fifty platform to drive European sales of their sous-vide products.”
The deal is subject to standard closing conditions and approval from the Irish Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.
