Jordan brothers in major breakfast cereal deal

The pair, who were already shareholders in the business, have acquired the shares of the company’s chairman Moez Karsan and his wife Naseem Karsan, giving them majority ownership.

Founded by the Karsan and Jordan families 30 years ago, EOM now claims to be the second largest oat miller in Europe in terms of capacity. It also claims to be the largest in terms of business-to-business market share.

Moez and Naseem Karsan managed the company on behalf of the shareholders until 2012, when Alk Brand was appointed as md.

Major producers​

The Bedford-based company supplies oats and other grain based ingredients to most of the major producers of porridges, muesli, granola and other oat products such as biscuits.

The company also operates a retail cereal plant producing own-label breakfast cereals such as flakes, extruded products and granolas to top retailers in the UK and Europe.

The deal with the Jordan brothers is the latest in a business relationship which dates back to Moez Karsan joining Jordans in the 1980s. He linked up with the company to help it to introduce the first granola bars into the UK market. After that the Jordan family sold Jordans Cereals to Associated British Foods.

“I’m delighted that David and Bill wanted to buy my stake in this great business,”​ said Karsan. “It cements a friendship that has lasted for over 30 years and I know the company will go from strength to strength under their stewardship. After dedicating most of my life to growing EOM to the sizeable business it is today we have decided to focus our time on other pursuits and family interests.”​

Bill Jordan added: “The contribution Moez has made to this sector and to EOM in particular cannot be underestimated. We wish him and his wife an extremely long and happy future. The greatest testament to his achievement will be the continued growth and prosperity of this business, to which we and the management team are dedicated.​

'Substantial additional capacity'​

“The new EOM Board will be backing our management team with an investment programme aimed to create substantial additional capacity in our milling business. EOM will continue to invest to make sure we keep delighting our customers with world class technical and service standards and to help the company to keep expanding its horizons.”​

Operating from three sites in Bedford, EOM employs 150 people and has grown rapidly in recent years with a particular emphasis on export markets. The company has recently joined The Sunday Times​ International Track 200 league table, highlighted for its export growth over a two-year period which includes exporting globally to markets including India, China and South Africa.

Md Alk Brand, who joined the business with a successful track record in grain processing, is bullish about its prospects. “We are seeing sustained growth in export and domestic markets, reflecting the increasing popularity of oats as an ingredient among manufacturers and consumers,”​ he said.

“We are proud to supply blue chip food manufacturers and retailers from our production facilities and will continue to support our customers through investment in innovation and expansion.”​