Deal ensures pie’s the limit for Keelham

Keelham Farm Shop, which turned over £9.3m in its latest financial year and is run and owned by the third generation of Robertshaws, siblings James and Victoria, has bought neighbouring family-run business H Ambler and Sons for an undisclosed sum.

Both are based in Thornton, on the outskirts of Bradford, with Keelham Farm Shop employing more than 130 people. Ambler, which has an annual turnover of around £330,000, has supplied Keelham Farm Shop with its fresh pies made used locally-reared meat for more than three decades.

Ambler employed four people, one of whom has taken voluntary redundancy, it confirmed. The other three are now employed by Keelham, but work at the Ambler site.

The current director, Paul Ambler – great grandson of George Ambler who originally founded the business as a butchers’ shop in 1888 – has run the company for more than 30 years.

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 per cent of Ambler’s annual income last year.

With no natural succession plan from within the family, and Mr Ambler looking to retire, the options for the future of the company were twofold: to shut down production and bring the business to a close, or to find a company that could take the business forward.

Ms Robertshaw said: “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.”

The acquisition of Ambler is the latest expansion for Keelham which recently received planning approval for its second farm shop in Skipton as part of a five-year plan to expand the business to other locations in Yorkshire.

Mr Ambler said: “We’re over the moon that Victoria and James will be taking over H Ambler and Sons Ltd and the production of Ambler Pies.

“I know that the Ambler name is in safe hands, generations of hands in fact, with an understanding of the importance of farming communities to the regional economy and cultural life.

“I’m excited to see how Keelham’s entrepreneurial approach will help shape the future for Ambler.”

Keelham Farm Shop said it is “a natural fit” for Ambler Pies, as the grandfather of current owners, Mr and Ms Robertshaw, opened his first butchers’ shop in the area in 1929.

As the company passed down through the generations, the business evolved, transforming into “a retail and visitor concept with fresh, affordable, locally grown and reared produce at its heart”.

The farm shop, with a strong emphasis on fresh produce, is based on a working hill sheep farm.

Keelham Farm Shop 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.

Mr Ambler will oversee the transition for an initial period of three months with future plans to extend the product range under Keelham’s direction.

Ms Robertshaw said: “We can testify to the deliciousness of the pies as they are a firm favourite on our dinner table at home, as well as being hugely popular with our shoppers.

“You can’t beat that freshly-baked flavour and smell, as the pies come straight from the oven to our shelves, and it’ll be fantastic to see where we can take this beloved brand in the future.”

For the last six years, Ms and Mr Robertshaw have been running the farm shop, bringing together Mr Robertshaw’s years of experience in farming and buying animals direct from auction and Ms Robertshaw’s marketing, accounting and business skills.

[email protected]