The Kitwave Group has completed the acquisition of Total Foodservice Solutions Limited for £21m, making it the company’s 14th purchase since 2011.
Total Foodservice’s depots are located in Clitheroe and Huddersfield, with customers including licensed trade and restaurants, coffee shops and sandwich bars, schools and universities and the care industry across the North of England. The wholesaler will now be incorporated into Kitwave’s existing foodservice division which currently comprises the trading operations of David Miller Frozen Foods, M. J. Baker Foodservice Limited, Westcountry Food Holdings Limited and H.B. Clark & Co.
In a recent interview with Better Wholesaling, chief executive designate Ben Maxted explained that the company sees a lot of opportunity in what he described a ‘fragmented delivered wholesale market in the UK where there are a large number of opportunities’.
Read more: Kitwave planning further foodservice M&A activity after group revenue exceeds £600m mark
Total Foodservice reported an audited turnover of £25.4m, profit before tax of £2n and the balance sheet had net assets of £8.5m for the financial year ending 30 April 2023. The acquired balance sheet includes £4m of cash and freehold property with a value of £2.1m, meaning the net cash outflow from the group as a result of the consideration payable and the cash acquired is £17m.
In Kitwave’s recent financials, revenues increased by 20% to £602.2m compared to £503.1m the previous year ending 31 October 2023, with the company confirming further foodservice M&A activity as a key growth area.
Maxted said: “We are delighted to announce the acquisition of Total Foodservice, which is a one-stop shop for wholesale commercial catering supplies and enables us to further expand our product range offering across the North of England and in particular Yorkshire and the North West, complementing our existing foodservice offering. “Total Foodservice is a well-established business in the catering industry and we look forward to welcoming its team to Kitwave and integrating the business into our Foodservice division.
