KK FINE FOODS ENTERS INTO STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP WITH TER BEKE FOOD GROUP

KK Fine Foods Plc is happy to announce that it has officially entered into a strategic partnership with Ter Beke Food Group Nv based in Belgium to expand its supply of frozen ready meals and food solutions to the foodservice and retail marketplaces.

The deal between the 2 companies sees Ter Beke buy an equity share in KK Fine Foods. The existing team, headed by Samir Edwards, will continue to manage the business going forward. KK recently completed the purchase of a 2nd manufacturing site of 60,000 sq ft adjacent to the existing site. The initial focus for the joint enterprise will be the design and build of Unit 107 Tenth Avenue over the next 12 months. The investment will allow KK to add an additional £40m plus of capacity over the next 2 years and is set to create more than 200 new jobs in North Wales.

The link-up between the 2 companies will allow Ter Beke, who are specialists in the supply of lasagne and pasta based meals worldwide, the opportunity to enter the UK marketplace with the benefits of an established management team already in place. The Ter Beke team is excited to work with a business who has built a strong reputation as a leading market innovator servicing the pub and restaurant trade.

On the acquisition, Dirk Goeminne CEO at Ter Beke said; “I have met many passionate developers at KK Fine Foods and have had the good fortune of sampling their creations. Their passion for food is exceptional and one that should be nurtured. For that reason, we have made a conscious decision for KK Fine Foods to continue operating independently.”

Samir Edwards, Managing Director at KK Fine Foods says; “The exciting thing for myself and the team is that we can continue to service our existing customers’ needs and provide them with the benefits of the additional capacity that we intend to build into the business over the next 12 months. Innovation and creativity really have been the cornerstone of KK’s successes to date and we intend on keeping this firm focus on where consumers want to go with their next meal.

Working with Ter Beke will allow us to invest into our core business, using the knowledge and experience that they have built up over many years within the pasta category, whilst also allowing us to accelerate our capital expenditure plans to ensure that we can react to a buoyant marketplace. Ter Beke is a business with a strong tradition in family values, sharing a similar philosophy to the KK business which has been built on the back of the passion and drive of its founder Leyla Edwards over the last 30 years. Leyla will continue as an ambassador for the business and will also support me as I look to take KK Fine Foods on to the next step of its journey.”