UK: Karro Food Group buys seafood firm Young’s

Karro Food Group, a leading UK pork processor owned by private equity firm CapVest has acquired UK seafood firm Young’s for an undisclosed sum, according to a FoodBev report.

The new group will employ around 5,000 people across the UK and Ireland and will have annual sales of more than £1.2 billion ($1.51 billion) a year.

Grimsby-based Young’s produces a range of fresh, frozen, own-label and branded fish at 12 manufacturing sites across the UK.

Commenting on the deal, Karro Food Group executive chair Di Walker said: “We are very excited about the opportunity to create an ambitious multi-protein food business of considerable scale. Young’s and Karro are highly complementary businesses and the combined platform will have strong market positions in two important protein categories that are experiencing consistent long-term growth. Today’s agreement will provide both businesses with the opportunity to further develop and broaden our relationships with our key partners”.

Young’s CEO Bill Showalter added: “We are delighted to be moving forward with Karro and CapVest and we believe this move will be positive for the fish and seafood industry as a whole. With CapVest’s existing understanding of our industry, and as part of a multi-protein food group, we will have the opportunity to inspire more consumers to love fish through our fresh, frozen, own-label and branded products”.

Source: FoodBev / Young’s