Quorn Foods sold to Philippines’ Monde Nissin for £550m

Quorn Foods, the North Yorkshire-based meat substitute company, has been bought by Philippines-based food products manufacturer, Monde Nissin, for £550m.

Since being put up for auction early last month, Quorn attracted interest from other gloabl food companies, including McCain, Nomad Foods, the new owner of Birds Eye and Findus, French yoghurt maker Danone and Ireland’s Kerry Group.

But Monde Nissin bought Quorn, which sells meat-free mince, nuggets, burgers and sausages in 16 countries, as part of its global expansion plans ahead of a stock market listing in 2016.

Henry Soesanto, CEO at Monde Nissin, said: “Monde Nissin have been investing in on-trend, better-for-you products internationally in line with our strategy to become a global diversified food company.

“Quorn represents an important new leg in our offering. We are excited by the growth potential of the global meat alternatives market, which complements our strategy perfectly.”

Quorn, which currently employs 620 people in the UK and internationally, produces its meat substitute products from Stokesley in North Yorkshire, Billingham on Teesside and Methwold in Norfolk, as well as Frankfurt in Germany, and Chicago in the US.

Kevin Brennan, chief executive at Quorn Foods, said: “We have an ambition to be the world leader in meat alternatives, ultimately creating a US$1bn business. Monde Nissin Corporation’s purchase represents a great step forwards in this ambition; they share our belief in the potential of Quorn, and provide capability to expand the brand into Asia.”