Durham based seafood firm offloads division

Sep 2 2009 by Chris Knox, The Journal

COUNTY Durham-based chilled seafood manufacturer Cumbrian Seafoods has sold on its Grants smoked salmon business to a firm in the US in order to concentrate on its core supermarket customers. The firm, which sold the Cumbrian business to the Miami- based The MacKnight Food Group for an undisclosed sum, is looking to boost its direct sales to supermarkets by moving away from its wholesale activities – which represents 80% of Grants’ contracts.

It now hopes to grow its sales by 10% year on year after recently moving most of its production to a new purpose-built 250,000sq metre site in Seaham, and is concentrating on the distribution of value products such as basa, which has become more popular during the recession.

Cumbrian Seafoods has managed to grow its turnover from £135m to £150m in the year to March 31 2009, after gradually moving most of its production to the new facility from its sites in Whitehaven and Maryport in Cumbria. David Gilthorpe, group financial director at Cumbrian Seafoods, confirmed Grants’ 120-strong workforce would not be reduced under the new ownership.

He said: “It was always part of our plans to move away from wholesale and focus more on our core supermarket supply operations.

“It’s not that the smoked salmon business was expensive to run, it’s just that we want to put more resources into our main customers in order to grow the business.”

Mr Gilthorpe was able to complete the deal with the help of the Newcastle offices of law firm Eversheds, which coincidentally employs his brother, Ian Gilthorpe, as a business development partner.

Ian Gilthorpe said: “Cumbrian Seafoods is growing all the time and should maintain that growth now that it is focusing on its core activities.

“It was great that we were able to work on the deal, particularly as it was my brother that was involved.”