Hilton to acquire sous vide operation

The acquisition will allow Hilton to enter the fast-growing sous vide market and “leverage its expertise in procurement and manufacturing of meat products in a new segment with major retailers and food service customers”.  ​The acquisition also diversifies the proteins supplied by Hilton in the UK as pork and poultry represent a significant proportion of HFR's output.

The transaction is scheduled to complete on 28 February 2019.

The deal requires that £100 be paid on completion with the remainder payable three years after completion. It is estimated that the amount payable will be approximately £3.3m but the final amount will depend on the performance of the HFR business. 

Hilton will provide a secured loan of £2.75m to HFR on completion to finance the company.

Hilton executive chairman Robert Watson OBE, said: "This acquisition represents an exciting opportunity for Hilton to broaden its offering in a fast-growing segment of the market and meet our customers' demands for Hilton to supply them with a range of innovative, high quality sous vide products."​

HFR director Graham Heffer added: "We are pleased with Hilton's acquisition of HFR as it will enable the business to benefit from Hilton's expertise, improve its operations and continue to focus on giving our customers the right products at competitive prices."​

Vegetarian market​

Hilton also completed the purchase of 50% Dutch vegetarian food manufacturer Dalco Food. It first announced the deal in October 2018. Hilton agreed to enter into a joint venture agreement with Dalco's shareholders, which includes an option for the remaining 50% of Dalco's shares in 2024. Following approval by the Dutch competition authority, this transaction completed on 31 January 2019.

This deal with Dalco enables Hilton to expand its product offering in the fast-growing vegetarian market. Hilton will provide its manufacturing expertise and capital resources to enable Dalco to expand its range into the next generation of vegetarian products servicing Dalco's and Hilton's customer base.