Walsh Mushrooms acquires Tipperary family business

GOREY company Walsh Mushrooms has acquired a family business in Tipperary and consilidated its position in the export market.

Last week Walsh Mushrooms acquired the business and assets of Golden Mushrooms, a Tipperary producer that employs 90 people. All of the staff at Golden Mushrooms will be kept on under the terms of the deal.

The Irish mushroom industry has come under huge strain since the Brexit vote last June, with a number of firms forced to close after a rapid decline in the value of sterling.

The deal will see Golden Mushrooms continuing to trade and operate as normal, albeit it will now come under the Walsh Mushrooms umbrella.

‘ The last seven months have certainly been incredibly difficult but we are confident that the sector will overcome the challenge created by Brexit’, according to Padraic O’Leary, managing director of Walsh Mushrooms.

‘ The fact is that mushrooms are the second largest vegetable category in the UK, yet the market is not self-sufficient and needs to import 50 per cent of its mushroom requirement. A long-standing, strong relationship exists between our markets and we are confident that ultimately the UK will return a more sustainable price for Irish mushrooms reflecting the new, post-Brexit, foreign exchange rates.’

Walsh Mushrooms is currently the second largest provider of mushrooms to the UK market with a market share estimated at around 15 per cent. The acquisition will see the number of people employed by the Walsh Mushrooms group rise to 380.