Hilton Food Group completes acquisition of fish firm

The company confirmed it had finalised the purchase of the UK fish packing and processing business, in a trading update released today (November 8).

Commenting on the acquisition, Hilton chief executive Robert Watson said: “We are pleased the acquisition has completed and look forward to broadening our offering into fish and seafood to our UK and overseas customers. ​

“We are excited about the opportunities the Seachill acquisition will bring to Hilton and see considerable potential to build the business alongside our existing meat offering.”​

‘Potential to build the business’​

Hilton said its performance from July 17 to November 8 this year had been in line with the board’s expectations, as it continued to grow the business through additional sales volumes and close cooperation with its retail partners.

Sales in the UK had grown relative to last year, with its Irish operations continuing to experience top-line growth.  

Its business in Portugal continued to show good progress, processing significant volumes as it executed its scheduled development plan, which had offset the impact of start-up costs.

Last year, Hilton agreed a partnership​ with Portuguese meat packaging firm Modeleo Continente Hipermercados, also known as Sonae.

The deal saw Hilton co-operate with Sonae to supply packaged fresh meat in its stores throughout Portugal, as well as improve company’s production facilities.

Success in its operations in Australia​

Hilton also saw success in its operations in Australia and New Zealand, having acquired planning permission for new factories in Queensland and Auckland respectively.

In a statement, Hilton said: “The group’s financial position remains strong, having put in place facilities to cover current expansion plans. ​

“Hilton continues to explore opportunities to invest in and to grow the business in both domestic and overseas markets.”​

The company intends to publish its 2017 full-year results on March 28 next year.

Meanwhile, in September, Hilton has posted a £58.8M sales rise in its half-year results,​ boosted by volume growth in Ireland, Australia and Portugal.