Adelie
Through five acquisitions, carried off in rapid succession, we have created a leading supplier and category manager in the fast growing food-to-go lunchtime market. We believe this company has the potential for further strong growth in both existing and new markets.
Building through acquisition
Adelie Food Holdings is a leading supplier of chilled Food-to-Go, offering a range of products such as sandwiches, salads and quiche to supermarkets, coffee shops and the food service sector.
Duke Street has built up Adelie through a series of acquisitions starting in March 2006 when we bought both Buckingham Foods Limited and Thomas Food Group for £35 million and £15 million respectively.
Subsequently we acquired Food Partners Limited in April 2006 for £34 million, Superior Food Group in February 2007 for £14 million and Brambles Foods in April 2007 for £22 million.
Expertise and industry knowledge
We have been building our expertise in the food sector in recent years, working closely with our Operating Partner Peter Macielinski, the former Chief Executive of Geest.
We brought together a team of highly-experienced managers – including Bill Hazeldean, the former Chief Executive of Macrae Food Group – to target attractive sub-sectors of the market, including food-to-go.
Because of this extensive industry knowledge we have been able to carefully select companies that fit under the Adelie umbrella, approaching them individually rather than buying them through auction.
The result is a group of companies – managed separately and with distinct offerings and customer bases – with a combined turnover of £250 million.
Leading suppliers
Buckingham is one of the leading suppliers of pre-packed fresh sandwiches, wraps and snack salads to supermarkets and coffee shops, operating at the premium end of the market. The company operates out of two factories in Milton Keynes and Tamworth and has over 1,000 employees.
Thomas Food Group manufactures premium chilled quiche and other pastry based products for supermarkets at its production sites in Sheffield and Milton Keynes.
Food Partners is the leading supplier of pre-packed fresh sandwiches, wraps, paninis and salads to coffee shops and the food service sector. Unique in this sector, it has a national distribution capability, making more than 4,000 deliveries a day.
The acquisition of Brambles Foods, one of Food Partner’s competitors in the food service sector, further consolidated Adelie as the leading supplier in the food service and coffee shop channels.
New markets and further growth
Superior Food specialises in the supply of a wide variety of cut fruit, prepared vegetables, and snack salads for airline catering and food services. Through this acquisition, Adelie has entered the premium prepared fruit market and can strengthen its presence in areas like snack salads and dips-to-go.
We believe Adelie has a strong platform for future growth – both in areas where it has a presence already and in new sectors of the food-to-go market. We expect to see both organic growth, as the premium food market expands, and to continue building the business through acquisitions.