Greencore Grocery has purchased the stock and production equipment together with rights to the Ross brand of collapsed pickle manufacturer James Ross & Son based in Newcastle from its administrators at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Assets will be transferred to Greencore’s site at Selby, North Yorkshire, which employs around 600 people, for the manufacture of both own-label and Ross branded products. Greencore Grocery claims to be the UK’s largest producer of prime pickle.
Greencore Grocery md Patrick Wood said: “The pickle sector has been suffering from substantially higher input costs, particularly of late in respect of packaging and vegetable prices, and sadly it has become extremely difficult for smaller producers, such as James Ross, to survive in this environment. We are moving quickly to ensure continuity of supply to all James Ross’s customers.”
At its Annual General Meeting in Dublin last month, Greencore chairman Ned Sullivan reported a strong performance over the past year as the company progressed its transformation from a primarily agribusiness into a leading convenience food producer.
Sullivan predicted further growth over the coming year, despite rising raw material prices; and an electrical fire at its largest sandwich facility at Manton Wood in December, which hit costs this financial year.