Total Produce is building a stronger citrus business at Tolworth Towers with the move of Hart & Friedmann (H&F) from Middlesex and new recruitment.

Nigel Quick and Stuart Benn have left the company due to the relocation, but ceo Denis Punter said that new developments are moving the group’s citrus business forward. “We have been working hard at recruitment and have brought in three or four good people over the last six months,” he said. “We always knew that Nigel would not relocate and the journey for Stuart proved too far. But we wanted the two businesses together as it did not make sense to have two sets of costs.”

Total Produce already had a substantial citrus business in Spain and H&F adds to that, Punter said. “Its strength in juicing is a big add-on for us and means we are even stronger,” he added.