British sausage-maker snapped up by German giant

13-Dec-2018 - Last updated on 13-Dec-2018 at 12:11 GMT

Riverway Foods was acquired by Tönnies

British sausage producer Riverway Foods has been acquired by a German food group for an undisclosed sum.

Tönnies purchased the business in an effort to bolster its position in the UK and provided the company “one step more vertical integraton in the value chain”. It confirmed that the Riverway brand would continue to exist after the sale of the company.

Carsten Jacobsen, managing director responsible for the Tönnies UK market, said: “Together with the Crosby family, we want to expand our market share in the UK. Riverway Foods’ quality products are a great fit with our other Becketts and Direct Table products.”

Largest slaughterhouse

Rheda-Wiedenbrück-headquartered Tönnies is one of Germany’s largest slaughterhouses for pigs and cattle and is divided into seven divisions: Meat; Convenience; Sausages; Ingredients; Logistics; International and Central Services.

Annual turnover for the company in 2016 was reportedly €6.35bn (£5.7bn) and it slaughtered 20.4m pigs worldwide. The purchase of Riverway came as Tönnies secured approval to increase capacity at its Rheda site.

Founded in 1971 in Harlow, Essex, Riverway Foods produces sausages that are available nationwide through Costco, Sainsbury’s and Tesco. Its product range includes Cumberland, pork & leek and jumbo pork sausages.

Meanwhile, a new £17m meat processing facility  to be built in Aberdeenshire, Scotland has been given the go-ahead by the local council.