Market town to be the new HQ for pork giant

Endless, the private equity house, completed the acquisition of Vion’s pork business last week and is moving the head office from West Lothian to Malton.

The pork business operates from eight sites in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, including the Malton bacon factory, which has 900 staff.

The deal, believed to be worth £50m, is the biggest yet for Endless, which specialises in turning around struggling companies.

Garry Wilson told the Yorkshire Post why he wanted to bring the £560m-turnover business to the region.

“One of the things that differentiates Endless is that we are based in Yorkshire. 95 per cent of my industry is based in London,” he said.

“Our investors love the fact that we are based in what they would call the industrial heartland of the UK. They love the fact that we are not in the financial centre.

“It is very tempting for large companies to base their headquarters in London. That’s where their investors are.

“We want our companies close to us. In private equity there are statistics that show there is a direct link between the return (from your) portfolio and how close the businesses are to your offices.

“It is a simple thing but the more time you spend at your business, the more support you give your management teams, the better that company performs and the better the return you have in your portfolio.

“Malton is half an hour away, we have a strong meat tradition in this county and it’s the perfect headquarters for us.”

Mr Wilson said that Endless plans to invest £10m to help improve the fortunes of the business.

He added: “There are opportunities to grow the customer base and grow the top line.

“We believe there are opportunities to run it more efficiently and are looking at operational improvements.

“We have capital expenditure plans at several sites to bring facilities up to date and that in turn will improve the margins and bottom line.”

The pork business was loss-making until Vion closed its sausage, haggis and black pudding factory in Glasgow. The site was said to be losing £750,000 a week.

Endless completed the deal without bank funding, providing both equity and debt in the transaction.

Peter Barr, chairman of Vion UK, said: “Following the formal completion of the management buyout, we would like to wish the new management team every success as the business embarks on the next stage of its development.”

Coun Eric Hope, chairman of Ryedale District Council, said: “It’s got to be good news for Ryedale.”

Endless is also in talks with Vion about buying its poultry and red meat divisions.

The poultry business, headquartered in Thorne, near Doncaster, employs 6,000 people and has annual sales of £600m. It is believed to be profitable.

Endless is said to have been facing competition from Ranjit Boparan, the Birmingham-based entrepreneur whose 2 Sisters Food Group acquired Leeds-based Northern Foods last year.

The red meat business, which has cattle and lamb interests in Wales, Scotland and the South West, employs 3,000 people and has annual sales of £500m.

The Dutch Vion group is exiting the UK to focus on its core food activities in the Netherlands and Germany and its global ingredients business.

Vion UK makes own-brand products for supermarkets and has been affected by soaring grain prices and a fall in meat consumption.

Endless is a limited liability partnership backed by high-net worth individuals and institutional investors including American and European universities and pension funds.

It has a strong track record in turning around businesses, with successes including Peter Black of Keighley and Crown Paints of Lancashire.

Its modus operandi is to inject working capital and invest in a company to improve efficiencies. It has generated market-leading returns for its backers.

Endless has raised around £500m and made 40 or so investments since Mr Wilson, business partner Darren Forshaw and original investor David Newett launched the buyout firm in 2005.

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