Gressingham Group, a UK-based duck specialist, has acquired local foodservice supplier Central Foods for an undisclosed sum.

Central Foods, based in Northamptonshire in England’s east Midlands, has annual revenues of more than £50m ($60.9m). It supplies frozen food, including burgers, sausages, desserts and vegan lines, to wholesalers and directly to the UK hospitality industry. Founded in 1996, its customers include Bidfood, Brakes, Whitbread and Greene King.

Gressingham Group, based in Suffolk in the east of England, dates back to 1971. It is a supplier of duck products to major UK retailers and the foodservice channel.

Deal advisory firm MHA Corporate Finance said Gressingham was selected as a "partner" for Central due to its “alignment with Central Foods’ values and culture as well as its market reputation”.

Firm partner James Lawson said: “Our process garnered interest from a number of potential strategic acquirers on an international basis, however Gressingham Group’s complementary UK market reputation and similar culture set it apart.

Central Foods’ founders, Gordon and Alison Lauder, will remain involved in the business.

They said: “We believed it would be a challenging brief to identify a partner which would complement Central Foods’ business, safeguard our culture, and offer security and progression opportunities for our staff.”

William Buchanan, a director at Gressingham Group, said: “We are excited to bring Central Foods into Gressingham Group.

“The business opens up a new market category for us and its reputation for excellent products and service complements our existing presence in the foodservice sector. We look forward to continuing to make frozen food wholesalers’ lives easier.”