KTC EXCHANGES ON THE ACQUISITION OF IRISH DISTRIBUTOR, TRILBY TRADING LIMITED

Endless portfolio company, K.T.C. (Edibles) Limited (‘KTC’), the UK’s leading supplier of edible oils to the food industry, has exchanged on the acquisition of Trilby Trading Limited (‘Trilby’) from Greencore Advances DAC (a wholly owned subsidiary of Greencore Group plc). Completion is subject to clearance from the Irish Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (‘CCPC’).

Established in 1983, Trilby is one of Ireland’s largest bulk distributors of edible oils, delivering c.60,000 tonnes per annum to manufacturers in the food processing industry. A key end market for Trilby is fat filled milk powders (‘FFMP’), largely used in nutritional retail products such as instant milk powders sold into developing countries as an alternative to fresh milk.

The acquisition will take the combined turnover of the KTC Group to over £600 million and increase access to the Irish market for KTC. Following the acquisition, KTC plans to support Trilby management to grow the business and continue to provide excellent service to its valued long-term customers.

Paul Ward, Managing Director of Trilby, said “We are very excited to be joining the KTC family as we see fantastic synergies between KTC and Trilby which will bring significant growth to our business as we continue to support our valued customers through service and product development. We wish to thank all our colleagues at Greencore Group plc for supporting our business for many years. Our team at Trilby are really looking forward to building our future business together with KTC in Ireland.”

Paresh Mehta, CEO of KTC, said “The acquisition of Trilby is excellent news for both businesses. We are excited by the partnership and how it will support our growth ambitions in Ireland. The Trilby team have demonstrated impressive skill in supporting their customers through a challenging period in edible oils over the last eighteen-months, and we see great potential in Trilby as an on-the-ground platform for KTC in Ireland.”

Aidan Robson, Partner at Endless LLP, added “Endless are delighted to support KTC with a further bolt-on acquisition of Trilby, following the successful acquisition of Cardowan Creameries Limited in March. As well as growing the sales and volume of the KTC Group, we believe Trilby will also broaden KTC’s geographical and product offering.”

KTC was advised by Eversheds Sutherland LLP (Legal) and Interpath Advisory LLP (Tax).

Greencore was advised by KPMG LLP (Corporate Finance), PwC (Tax) and Arthur Cox LLP (Legal).