Jobs saved at Crawford & Tilley after pre-pack deal

03-Sep-2018 - Last updated on 03-Sep-2018 at 11:00 GMT

Crawford & Tilley specialises in lollipops and hard boiled sweets

Jobs have been saved at two sweet-making manufacturing sites after the business was bought by a retail trade group in a pre-pack administration.

The assets of R Crawford (Northern) Ltd – known as Crawford & Tilley – have been sold to the Paramount Retail Group in a deal facilitated by administrators Duff & Phelps.

It safeguards the future of 35 jobs across two sites – in Thrapston, Northants, and Hadfield, Derbyshire.

Crawford & Tilley was formed in 2016, when Maxilin Crawford bought Tilley’s Sweets. Crawford was known for making lollipops, while Tilley specialised in producing hard boiled sweets.

It now joins a portfolio that includes artisan confectionery company Bristows of Devon, which the Paramount Retail Group purchased in 2017. Bristows makes branded and own-label fudge, toffee and bonbons.

£1.2m invested in Bristows

The Paramount Retail Group has invested £1.2m in Bristows and has plans to invest in Crawford & Tilley, according to Paramount Retail Group director Ravi Sharma.

“We’ll be using our experience and expertise gained at Bristows and investing in people and facilities to develop the business at Crawford & Tilley and restore it to profit and growth,” he said.

“After visiting both Crawford & Tilley sites and reviewing the business, we’re excited about what the company can add to the portfolio.

“The sites are of a very good standard and there is a lot of potential to leverage synergies across the group to improve results.

“Our main focus will be on ensuring it becomes a stable and recognised supplier to the market through innovation and ingredient controls.”

Duff & Phelps

Steven Muncaster, joint administrator at Duff & Phelps, said: “We are delighted to have been able to secure the future of R Crawford (Northern) Ltd as a result of this pre-pack deal with Paramount Retail Group.

“The synergies are evident and we believe the future is bright for the new business.”

Since being bought by Paramount, Bristows has gained a BRC A-rated accreditation and recently passed a RSPO palm oil sustainability audit.

Sales growth at the Crediton-based company was currently tracking at a rate of 10–20% month on month, Paramount claimed.

Last month, Tangerine Confectionery was sold to Valeo Foods Group in a deal worth around £100m. Tangerine operates five UK factories.