Branston is buying its Scottish partner, WCF Potatoes nearly three years after agreeing to co-ordinate their separate Tesco businesses as a joint operation.
Announcing the acquisition, which comes into at the end of July, Branston’s managing director Graeme Beattie stressed that the factory at Abernethy, near Perth, would continue to operate and source potatoes from Scottish growers, primarily for Tesco. Branston, which has factories in Lincolnshire and Somerset, is already the supermarket’s biggest supplier of fresh potatoes.
"The alliance between ourselves and WCF has been very successful in strengthening our ability to meet Tesco’s requirements," said Beattie. "It has increased our procurement capabilities and improved the flexibility of our supply arrangements, as well as enhancing our technical expertise.
"However, we now need to secure the benefits that will come from operating the WCF factory fully under the Branston umbrella.
"The new arrangement will be entirely positive for the Abernethy operation and the growers who supply it. Tesco, the UK’s leading supermarket chain, continues to expand. Already as its biggest supplier of fresh potatoes, Branston is well positioned to take advantage of this situation, provided we can supply the quantity and quality required.
‘The staff at the Abernethy factory and the growers supplying it have impressed us with their capabilities, and we see the factory playing an important part in our plans for the future’.
Branston started supplying to Tesco in 1990 and has built up sales to the 140,000 tonnes a year from its own factories in Lincolnshire and Somerset and the WCF site. This volume is set to increase by another 42,000 tonnes as a result of further consolidation of suppliers recently announced by Tesco.
The Abernethy site has been operated by WCF since 1983 and started supplying Tesco 13 years ago. Around £1 million has been invested over the last 15 months in the latest modern machinery, new quality control facilities and other improvements. Since the alliance with Branston started in September 2001, tonnage to Tesco from Abernethy has increased.
Commenting on the new ownership arrangements, Roy Maynard, Tesco buying manager, said: "Bringing all three sites into a single ownership will enable operations to be even more efficient and co-ordinated, which will put Branston in a stronger position to supply Tesco in the long term."
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