Jersey's biggest potato firm sold to the UK

Friday 16 May 2014

The Island's biggest producer of Jersey Royals has sold out to the UK’s leading supplier of fresh potatoes in a deal reported to be worth £15m.

The Jersey Royal Company (JRC), which produces more than 20,000 tonnes of Royals each year, is now part of the Berwickshire-based, and AIM listed company, Produce Investments plc, owners of the brand Greenvale.

The Scotsman newspaper is reporting the value of the the deal to be £15m, made up of £11m in cash, and £4m in shares, with an option to buy the company's main packing site for a further £6.35m, within three years.

Managing Director of the JRC Tom Binet said it has been a testing couple of years for the company: “Whilst this is a major step for JRC, we are confident that the move will secure the future success of the business and provide a stable base with greater reach to allow the company to continue to develop the Jersey Royal brand in the face of increasing competition, both locally and in the UK market.

"We must be mindful that we are joining a business with which we have been associated for well over 20 years, and which has a very similar culture to our own.

“In addition to this, Greenvale is one of the strongest businesses in the UK potato sector and this will undoubtedly serve us very well in what has become a very competitive market, both here in Jersey and in the UK”. 

The Jersey company employs hundreds of staff and Director of Sales and Marketing William Church said that operationally it will retain its own identity.

He said: “For staff, it’s business as usual. We’re now part of a much bigger organisation, suddenly we’ve got more weight in a hugely competitive market.

“We’ve got to promote and establish Jersey Royals against other import crops that were never a concern years ago. Potatoes come from all over the world now – Mallorca, Israel, Egypt, so we are up against it in a very competitive market with everybody competing for shelf space.

“We’ve got a cracking crop and we need to keep selling it.”

 Angus Armstrong, Chief Executive of Produce Investments, commented: “I am delighted that we have been able to attract such a well-known business into the group, and it takes Produce Investments into a very significant sector of the new potato market. This marks the beginning of an exciting period for PI and the teams at both JRC and KPC, providing future earnings potential through strengthening the Jersey brand in its traditional market and developing new export possibilities, further afield. It should be noted that the long established local directors will retain a meaningful shareholding in the wider group".