The Compleat Food Group has bought fellow UK business The Real Yorkshire Pudding Co. for an undisclosed sum.
Its acquisition comes just weeks after it announced redundancies at two factories in England.
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The deal follows the group’s acquisition of private-label chilled party foods and dips and deli fillings businesses SK Foods and Zorba Foods and Harvey & Brockless, a producer and distributor of speciality foods, in 2024.
The Compleat Food Group was formed in 2021 when private-equity owner – Paris-headquartered PAI Partners – merged its UK portfolio companies Winterbotham Darby and Addo Food Group, which it had bought the year before.
The group’s portfolio includes baked goods such as pies and quiches, sausages and deli items including olives, antipasti and pickles.
Its brands include Pork Farms, Wall’s Pastry, Squeaky Bean, Unearthed and Vadasz.
Founded in 1992, The Real Yorkshire Pudding Co., based in South Yorkshire in northern England, is, as its name suggests, a supplier of own-label and branded chilled Yorkshire puddings and has an annual turnover of around £33m ($42.7m).
Commenting on the deal, Nick Field, CEO at The Compleat Food Group, said: “We are excited to welcome the Real Yorkshire Pudding Co. to The Compleat Food Group. The Real Yorkshire Pudding Co has a long-standing reputation for creating high-quality, delicious food that people love to eat, which perfectly aligns to our mission to create food to feel good.
“This partnership is about more than just great products, it’s about bringing together talented teams, shared values and a culture of excellence to create something truly special.”
Bill Howson, managing director of the Yorkshire Pudding Co., said: “Joining The Compleat Food Group marks an exciting new chapter for The Real Yorkshire Pudding Co. We’ve built our business on quality, innovation, and a passion for great Yorkshire puddings and Compleat is the perfect partner to help us in the next stage of our growth journey.”
The Compleat Food Group, headquartered in Surrey, south of London, employs more than 5,000 people across 15 sites and has an annual turnover in excess of £1bn.
In January, it was announced the company had drawn up plans to reduce the number of jobs at a pie-making facility in Nottingham in England’s east Midlands.
The Compleat Food Group said it had entered into discussions over possible redundancies and that up to 131 roles were at risk at the Tottle Bakery which manufactures branded and private-label products.
A company spokesperson said the move was the result of a “comprehensive review of cold pie volume” at the site.
And earlier this month, following Just Food being tipped off by a source familiar with the matter, the company confirmed that it is making redundancies at a pie-making factory in Crewe, north-west England, but it denied that the number was as high as the 61 job cuts suggested by the whistle-blower.
Today, as the deal for The Real Yorkshire Pudding Co. was announced, Just Food was contacted by another company whistle-blower who shared a screenshot of an internal announcement from CEO Field telling employees about the acquisition.
“This is shocking after two factories made redundancies,” the worker said.
