Northern Foods to Sell Dalepak Frozen Foods
UK convenience foods producer Northern Foods has agreed to sell Dalepak Frozen Foods to the Irish Food Processors Group, one of the largest meat processors in Europe, for an expected cash consideration of £6.4m. Dalepak, based in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, England, is a supplier of frozen food products, including meat and meat free grills, with brands such as Dalepak, Ross and Grassington’s.
Stefan Barden, chief executive of Northern Foods.
Subject to due process, 143 employees will transfer to the Irish Food Processors Group. Dalepak made a marginal loss on sales of £23m in the year to 3rd April 2010. A proportion of the proceeds from the transaction will be paid into the Northern Foods Pension Schemes.
Irish Food Processors is the parent company of Anglo Irish Beef Processors (AIBP) in Ireland representing 25% of the industry, and Anglo Beef Processors (ABP) in the UK which accounts for 15% of the industry. The group operates more than twenty facilities throughout both islands.
AIBP is Europe’s largest beef producer and is also the longest established beef processing group in Ireland. ABP supplies frozen and fresh beef, pork and lamb products to the multiple retail and wholesale trade in Britain.
To supplement its traditional core activity in beef processing, Irish Food Processors has been developing the added value element of its business. It currently operates a frozen foods division, including frozen beef burger production, consumer ready chilled products and a major frozen sausage production unit.
