Valeo Foods gobbles up UK tortilla-maker

Valeo Foods, a Dublin group that owns Jacob's biscuits and Batchelors beans, has bought a UK manufacturer of tortilla chips .

The Capvest-backed Irish company has agreed to buy It’s All Good (IAG), which is a major supplier of private label tortillas to supermarkets. The company from Gateshead in north England also owns the Manomasa chips brand.

IAG’s annual sales are £37 million (€40.6m) and it employs 265 staff. Valeo did not reveal the purchase price, but IAG’s value was recently estimated in trade press at about £25 million.

The deal is the 17th acquisition for Valeo since its formation in 2010. IAG will be bolted on to Valeo’s snacks division, which includes the European operations of Kettle crisps, which it bought last year for £66 million.

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"We are very excited about the potential of IAG's portfolio of private label and branded products, and the opportunity to expand our presence in snacking," said Seamus Kearney, the one-time Aer Lingus executive who is now chief executive of Valeo.

“We want to remain at the forefront of consolidation in the ambient food sector in Europe, and we will continue to seek out further exciting opportunities for growth.”

Valeo, which has annual sales in excess of €1 billion, has been on an acquisitions spree in recent years with backing from Capvest, whose partners include Cavan investor Seamus Fitzpatrick.

Its roster of ambient food brands includes brands such as Rowse Honey, Barratt sweets, Fox’s Glacier Mints and Italian biscuit brand Balconi. It also owns Chef sauce and Odlums flour.

Last year it also bought Mathew Walker, the UK's biggest supplier of Christmas puddings. It also bought Tangerine Confectionery, which owns Refreshers and Dip Dabs, in 2018, while Big Bear confectionery was acquired in 2017.