Total Foodservice Solutions acquired by Kitwave for £21m
AN independent food wholesaler which dates from the late 19th century has been acquired by a company which is listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM).
Kitwave Group has acquired the entire share capital of Total Foodservice Solutions Limited. The total consideration payable for the acquisition is £21m in cash which has been funded from the group's current banking facilities.
Established more than 130 years ago, Total Foodservice delivers wholesale catering supplies of around 4,000 product lines including chilled, frozen and ambient food, non-food and cleaning products.
Total Foodservice's depots are based in Clitheroe in Lancashire and Huddersfield in West Yorkshire with customers including licensed trade and restaurants, coffee shops and sandwich bars, schools and universities and the care industry.
Total Foodservice reported an audited turnover of £25.4m, profit before tax of £2.0m and the balance sheet had net assets of £8.5m for the financial year ended April 30 2023
The acquisition will be incorporated into Kitwave's existing foodservice division which comprises the trading operations of David Miller Frozen Foods Limited, M. J. Baker Foodservice Limited, Westcountry Food Holdings Limited and H.B. Clark & Co. (Successors) Limited.
Commenting on the Acquisition, Ben Maxted, Chief Executive Officer of Kitwave, said: “We are delighted to announce the acquisition of Total Foodservice, which is a one-stop shop for wholesale commercial catering supplies and enables us to further expand our product range offering across the North of England and in particular Yorkshire and the North West, complementing our existing foodservice offering.”
He added: “Total Foodservice is a well-established business in the catering industry and we look forward to welcoming its team to Kitwave and integrating the business into our Foodservice division.
“This acquisition is in line with Kitwave’s growth strategy, and we will continue to seek to identify further opportunities in the UK’s highly fragmented wholesale market to deliver further value to the group and its shareholders.”
Kitwave was founded in 1987, following the acquisition of a singlesite confectionery wholesale business based in North Shields.
It is a delivered wholesale business, specialising in selling and delivering frozen, chilled and fresh foods, alcohol, groceries and tobacco to around 42,000, mainly independent, customers.
The group's growth to date has been achieved both organically and through a strategy of acquiring smaller, predominantly familyowned, complementary businesses in the UK grocery and foodservice wholesale market.