Following increasing margin pressures and a rise in feed prices that has caused trouble for the company, Banham Poultry Limited has been sold to Chesterfield Poultry Limited by Duff & Phelps.
The sale covered all assets, employees on permanent contracts, a hatchery, farms and processing plants at Banham.
The agreement has not only secured the future of the business, but has also helped to protect the future of employees with over 1,000 jobs reported to have been saved in the process.
Prior to the sale, Allan Graham and Trevor Birch, both of Duff & Phelps, were appointed as joint administrators for Banham Poultry Limited and Banham Group Limited on 5th October 2018. On appointment, the administrators went on to secure the sale of the businesses.
Nadeem Iqbal, CEO Chesterfield Poultry Limited, said: “We are delighted to welcome Banham into the Chesterfield family and look forward to continuing the legacy of the brand and quality poultry production in Attleborough.
“The swift conclusion of this sale has enabled Duff & Phelps to secure the future of over 1,100 employees, ensuring no break in processing and animal husbandry, guaranteeing the continued supply of high quality poultry to the UK food industry.”
Banham Poultry has been in operation in Norfolk for over 50 years and accounts for about 7% of the UK poultry market. In the past couple of months, it has been exploring a number of options to ensure the survival of the business. Chesterfield Poultry specialises in chicken production, with its products appearing in grocery stores and supermarkets across the UK, and currently processes in excess of 1.2 million birds a week.
Michael Foulger, managing director of Banham Poultry, commented: “The Foulger Family are very pleased to have secured a deal with Chesterfield Poultry to ensure the long-term future of Banham and secure the continued employment of a very loyal workforce, which was always at the forefront of any negotiations.”
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
