Keelham Farm Shop acquires Ambler Pies
Keelham Farm Shop acquires Ambler Pies
Two of Yorkshire’s long-established butchery businesses have merged, with Keelham Farm Shop acquiring neighbouring business, H Ambler and Sons Ltd. Both businesses are based in Thornton on the outskirts of Bradford, and already have a close relationship as Ambler has supplied Keelham Farm Shop with pies for the past 30 years.
The current director Paul Ambler is the great grandson of George Ambler who originally founded the business as a butchers’ shop in 1888. The shop element of the business closed in 2004, shifting the focus to supplying pies and sausages wholesale to local restaurants and shops, including Keelham, which accounted for almost 50% of Ambler’s annual income last year.
Keelham has purchased the fixed assets, stock, Ambler name and recipes, and will retain rental of the company’s existing premises where production will continue, without the wholesale side of the business, which means that Ambler’s products will be available exclusively to Keelham customers. Paul Ambler will oversee the transition for an initial period of three months with future plans to extend the product range under Keelham’s direction.
James and Victoria Robertshaw (Back L-R)from Keelham Farm Shop, (Front) Paul Ambler from H Ambler and Sons Ltd. © Roger Moody
Victoria Robertshaw, co-owner of Keelham Farm Shop commented: “It was an obvious choice to bring Ambler’s wealth of pie-making experience to Keelham. As active supporters of the rural community here in Thornton, we’re delighted to bring Ambler’s, a much-loved community asset, into our fold. Embarking on partnerships with great local suppliers is an important part of Keelham’s ethos and our two companies combined make something far greater than the sum of their parts: brilliant pies, locally made, using meat from nearby farms, for customers hungry for a new era in food retailing.”
