Northern Foods buys Baxters soup plant
NORTHERN Foods has extended its soup business after acquiring Baxters' chilled soup manufacturing plant in Grimsby.
The deal, for an undisclosed sum, sees Northern take over the 70,000 sq ft site, which was built in 2001, and its fixed assets.
Leeds-based Northern said the operation, which employs 48 people and had gross assets of £9m last June, would create a “bespoke production site” for its growing soup business.
No existing business will transfer from Baxters to Northern, which makes ready meals for Marks & Spencer, Asda and Morrisons, following the acquisition.
Stefan Barden, chief executive of Northern Foods, said: “This transaction underpins our commitment to grow within our chosen markets and complements our recent purchase of Ethnic Cuisine.
“With both our soup and ready meal capacity increasingly constrained, buying the Baxters facility provides us with an additional high quality manufacturing facility, in a cost-efficient manner, without adding new capacity into the industry.”
Audrey Baxter, chairman and chief executive of Baxters, said: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone at our Grimsby operation for all of their hard work over the years and wish them and Northern Foods continued success at the site.”
Northern strengthened its position in the ready meals market when it acquired Swansea-based Ethnic Cuisine in November. Ethnic Cusine supplies chilled ready meals and snacks to Sainsbury's and Brake Bros.
