Kitwave Wholesale Group expands Food Service offering with acquisition of Alpine Fine Foods

Hot on the heels of the purchase of Central Supplies, North Tyneside based wholesaler Kitwave has continued its expansion activity with the purchase of Alpine Fine Foods Limited, a foodservice operator providing a quality food wholesale and delivery service to a multitude of businesses across the Humberside and Yorkshire regions.

Alpine based in Hull, which has a turnover of around £13m, is a highly respected wholesale supplier of ambient, frozen, chilled and fresh products, including meat, fruit and vegetables to the foodservice sector.  The purchase of the Humberside based company, for an undisclosed fee, is Kitwaves second Foodservice acquisition, the former being Miller Food Service based in York. The purchase allows Kitwave to offer a greater product range and an improved delivery capability, enabling growth of  its share in an exciting market that is driven by customer service, a principle that is paramount to both businesses.

Ben Maxted, Kitwave head of Frozen & Chilled operations, will join the board of Alpine Fine Foods alongside Gareth Wilson Managing Director of Miller Food Service. Ben said: “We’re delighted to announce the acquisition of  Alpine Fine Foods.  The business is renowned for providing a quality delivered solution to its customers and this ethos is a key part of the Kitwave Group.  We look forward to building further our foodservice offering to the benefit of both customers and suppliers alike.

Garreth Wilson, Managing Director of Miller Foods: “Having operated in the food service sector for 17 years, Alpine is a business very similar to our own, built on a reputation of fantastic customers service, resulting from its loyal and hardworking employees. I look forward to working with Phil Davis, Peter McAlpin and the rest of the team, who I know will continue to keep the business moving in the right direction.

Phil Davis, Managing Director Alpine: The acquisition has come at an exciting time for Alpine, after an already successful year this is a positive move towards growing the business further. The senior management and staff at Alpine are really looking forward to working closely with the Gareth and his team which will further improve our already high customer service levels.

Kitwave, founded by CEO Paul Young, in 1988, has transformed itself from a regional confectionery-based business to a diversified, national wholesaler through a number of acquisitions since 2011. The group has built a reputation for excellence in service quality, product availability and customer relationship and has a strong foundation for the future. As well as now having nationwide delivery capability, the group has expanded to offer frozen, ambient and own label products to the independent retail, vending and foodservice sectors.

The acquisition was supported by new finance facilities made available by Barclays Bank and Yorkshire Bank.  Kitwave were supported on the transaction by Muckle LLP and KPMG on the acquisition in providing legal and due diligence services.