Prepared meal manufacturer, Anglia Crown Ltd has been sold in a management buyout.
New company directors, Paul Howell and Andrew Lone, have taken ownership of the company with a view to positioning the business for growth.
The company has been acquired from previous owners Bakkavor and the management buyout was led by Paul Howell and Andrew Lone.
Anglia Crown Director, Paul Howell commented, “Anglia Crown is an exceptional company with potential for fast and sustainable growth. This is true in both current and new markets. Our new found independence will enable us to be more market responsive.
“We have an exciting pipeline of new product development for future and will shortly be laying out a brand new environmental platform to help reduce waste and energy whilst still delivering a quality outsourced meal solution.”
New director Andrew Lone added, “I have been at Anglia Crown overseeing finance and operations for 11 years. We have enjoyed being part of Bakkavor but we are delighted at this opportunity to own and run the business independently. The timing was right, our client portfolio has fully backed us, and we are supported by our strong senior management team.”
Founded in 1992, Anglia Crown Ltd has an annual turnover of £15m and is an award-winning, chilled and frozen prepared meal manufacturer for the healthcare and complementary markets.
Supplying a range of multi and single portion dishes to customers and patients, it has operated in the UK market for more than 25 years, and currently works with around 100 hospital sites nationwide.
Based in Colchester, the 4600 square metre facility employs more than 160 people, and manufactures approximately 40,000 chilled and frozen meals every week day.
It has recently added new ranges to its core offering, including an innovative finger food range for patients who struggle to eat with cutlery, and a paediatric range for children.
With a strong brand profile in healthcare, particularly in hospital catering, the new owners are positioning the business to enter further markets including hospitality, travel, leisure and private healthcare.
Anglia Crown’s individual frozen meals will be offered as a cost effective way to provide high quality dining, on the move, out of hours and for catering operations where there are limited facilities.
Going forward Howell will be responsible for client retention, sales and growth and Lone will continue to hold responsibility for finance and operations.
Howell previously held the position of managing director and Lone the position of head of finance and operations. The senior management team at Anglia Crown remain the same.