Bernard Matthews bought out of administration in pre-pack deal

Household name turkey producer Bernard Matthews has been acquired out of administration in a pre-pack deal by 2 Sisters Food Group.

The business and assets have been sold to Ranjit Boparan, founder and chief executive of 2 Sisters Food Group. This deal has meant that all 2,000 jobs under threat will be safeguarded and no redundancies have been announced.

2 Sisters Food Group is the country’s largest chicken processing company and owns other large brands such as Goodfella’s frozen pizza brands and Fox’s biscuits.

Bernard Matthews was created 65 years ago and has its headquarters in Great Witchingham with additional offices in Norfolk, Suffolk, Lincolnshire and Hungary.

However, with the effects of bird flu as well as the famous Jamie Oliver school campaign against Bernard Matthews product, Turkey Twizzlers, the company became loss-making, and has struggled over the past eight years. Rutland Partners began supporting Bernard Matthews back in 2013 and earlier this year, they appointed advisers at PwC with a view to finding potential buyers.

Bernard Matthews had reported losses of approximately £8.5 million in 2013/2014 and for the year to 28 June 2015, £3.7 million pre-tax loss was reported. Turnover fell from £306.8 million to £276.7 million.

On the 20 September, Daniel Butters, Richard Hawes and Paul Meadows from business firm Deloitte were appointed as administrators of Bernard Matthews along with certain subsidiaries.

In a statement, Mr Butters said: “This famous 65-year old brand had been operating in a challenging market for some time, and today's announcement is a positive outcome for the business and the brand. We are pleased that all the jobs have been preserved, and the company can make a fresh start with new owners.”

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