The European poultry business, which currently trades as 2 Sisters Storteboom, will join the ranks of Bernard Matthews, Banham Poultry and Elkes Biscuits in the Boparan private office (BPO) from Boparan Holdings (BHL).
Boparan’s sale of the business to his private office marked the beginning of a series of investments into the business that will focus heavily on sustainability goals and food processing technologies.
‘Transformational deal’
Commenting on the sale, Boparan said: “This is a significant and transformational deal and unlocks many opportunities for the future, so we are very pleased to announce an agreement has been reached. All my companies will benefit as it creates a stronger, more agile group of businesses and provides a platform for an unprecedented level of internal investment.”
“As well strengthening BHL, it gives the European poultry business, under the BPO, a dedicated regional focus on its European markets, unlocking undoubted growth opportunities through a focus on quality, animal welfare and sustainability.”
According to Boparan, the transaction will strengthen BHL’s 2 Sisters Food Group’s balance sheet and enable it to reduce bet debt levels “to the lowest point in over a decade”.
Further investment plans
The sale of the European poultry business is subject to Polish anti-trust approval with an anticipated completion of later this month. Further investment plans will be announced once the deal is fully finalised.
BPO spans Boparan operations in feed mills, poultry, food production and restaurants and includes such brands as Bernard Matthews, Banham Poultry, Elkes Biscuits, Carluccio’s, Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Giraffe and Ed’s Easy Diner. Latest Companies House accounts reported 8,436 employees with £1.6bn turnover.
If the European Poultry deal is cleared by authorities, the BPO will reach around 11,000 employees and turnover rise to about £2bn annually.
Meanwhile, in other sales news, Pernod Ricard has agreed to sell its international portfolio of wine brands to Australian Wine Holdco Limited.