Major potato grower AKP Group acquires Wolds Produce
© Tim Scrivener Lincolnshire-based potato grower Arundel Kerr Produce (AKP Group) has purchased potato trading business Wolds Produce.
AKP Group is one of the UK’s largest potato growers, supplying businesses in the retail, food service and manufacturing sectors across the UK and Europe.
It has capacity for 36,000t of on-site potato storage and moves more than 150,000t of product each year.
See also: Harvest 2023: Potato yields hit by dry early summer
Yorkshire-based Wolds Produce trades about 50,000t each year, supplying potatoes for crisping, chipping, ware, catering and seed.
Consolidation of growers in the wider supply chain has been taking place following a challenging few years, with high production costs and recent wet weather impacting lifting on-farm.
The acquisition will allow both companies to benefit from improved economies of scale and combined use of storage and grading facilities.
The team at Wolds Produce © APK Group
Wolds Produce will continue to trade under its existing name, but will sit under the wider AKP Group umbrella.
AKP Group managing director Richard Arundel said: “By combining our respective services and scaling up our operation across storage, washing, grading and distribution, we can help our growers and partners to minimise risk, reduce their costs and make it happen for UK farming.”
“This acquisition represents a strategic step towards realising our vision of becoming the go-to partner within the UK’s potato industry.”
Tim Foggin, Wolds Produce managing director, added: “The culture and forward-thinking nature of AKP Group aligns with our own values, and we look forward to merging our expertise and consolidating our respective strengths.”