Dutch firm Vion completes management buy-out of UK pork business

Dutch food company Vion has completed the management buy-out of its UK pork business, securing about 4,000 jobs.

The transaction was led by Seamus Carr, managing director of Vion’s pork business unit, and backed by UK private equity firm Endless.

Commenting on the deal, Vion UK chairman Peter Barr said, "Following the formal completion of the MBO, we would like to wish the new management team every success as the business embarks on the next stage of its development."

The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Vion’s UK pork business operates processing facilities in Wiveliscombe, Malton, Haverhill, Scunthorpe, Hull, Stoke and Enfield in England and in Cookstown in Northern Ireland, and a pig farming and feed mill operation in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

It also owns the McGee’s Butchers business in the Republic of Ireland.

In December 2012, the Dutch firm agreed to a management buy-out of its UK pork unit.

The move followed its announcement in November that it had initiated the process to sell its UK food business, Vion UK, which employs 13,000 people at 38 facilities across the country, as part of its efforts to focus on food operations in the Netherlands and Germany, and reinforce its global ingredients business.

The company then noted that it was in discussions with several buyers who were interested in acquiring its UK poultry and red meat divisions, which have about 8,000 employees.

Vion, based in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, has two core activities, food and ingredients, with a total workforce of 26,500 and annual revenues of €9.5bn

Vion entered the UK market in the late 1990s with the acquisition of Key Country Foods, followed by Tranfield and then Grampian Country Food Group in 2008.

The company processes beef, lamb, pork and chicken products across its 30 sites in Scotland, England and Wales, and supplies the products to the food retailing, food manufacturing and foodservice sectors.