William Jackson Food Group acquire fine ingredients supplier

La Salle can reveal that William Jackson Food Group, the company behind Aunt Bessie's and The Food Doctor brands, ha acquired Nelson-headquartered Wellocks, whose customers include a number of Michelin-star restaurants and high-profile sporting venues.

Business acquired: Wellocks

Activities: Incorporated in 2001, the company is primarily engaged in the wholesale trade of a wide range of fruit and vegetables and boasts a 470 strong workforce.

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Purchaser: William Jackson Food Group Limited

Activities: The company has been trading for a number of years, dating back as far 1851. They supply leading supermarkets, food service businesses and food manufacturers nation-wide and abroad with bread and freshly prepared salad and vegetables. Other brands in the group include Aunt Bessie's, Abel & Cole, The Food Doctor, Jackson's Yorkshire Champion Bread and MyFresh.

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Additional info:

William Jackson Food Group chief executive Norman Soutar said:

"We are a sixth generation family business and are delighted to be welcoming Wellocks, a business we have admired for many years, to the family."

"We've been looking to enter the fast-growing premium segment of the foodservice channel and believe Wellocks, which has itself enjoyed recent growth, has really exciting potential for the future with its great customers and really innovative suppliers. We're really looking forward to helping Wellocks grow even further into the future."

"The group remains very focused on having a portfolio of great food businesses and this is an important acquisition for us, replacing the Wigan salad processing business we sold to Agrial a year ago."