Member Article

The Upton Group cooks up deal with catering supplies company for further growth

A family-founded, North Yorkshire catering supplies business has been acquired by Yorkshire vending machine and refreshments systems company, The Upton Group, as part of its development strategy.

Fishers Catering Supplies, York, founded in 2006 by husband-and-wife team, Graham and Jane Fisher, who originally operated from a York market stall, has been renamed Ebor Catering Supplies by Selby-based The Upton Group in recognition of its long association with York and North Yorkshire.

The acquisition, for an undisclosed sum, is the second by The Upton Group, a family business that acquired York artisan coffee roasting company, York Emporium, in 2016, after which the business has gone through a period of rapid growth.

Fishers Catering Supplies, which had local and national customers, had a turnover of more than £1m, and five staff, three of which have transferred to The Upton Group with the bank-funded acquisition. John Duggleby, who became a director of Fishers in 2011, joins The Upton Group as general manager of Ebor Catering Supplies. Graham and Jane Fisher have exited the business following the sale.

The Upton Group managing director, Ross MacDonald, who has become managing director of Ebor Catering Supplies, says: “This is a strategically-significant acquisition for us as Ebor Catering Supplies fits well with The Upton Group and York Emporium and the three businesses can help each other grow through contacts and introductions.

“We see John Duggleby and his team working closely alongside Laurence Beardmore at York Emporium to help the business make further inroads to Scarborough and East Yorkshire where Upton Group has a base and Ebor is well established supplying hotels, cafes, and bars.

“As well as renaming and rebranding Fishers, we plan to fully integrate the business and refresh its product lines to appeal to a wider, national audience, including supplying kitchen equipment and offering a full kitchen-fit out service.”

Ebor Catering Supplies, which sells to both trade and public, offers 10,000 products from bar supplies, cutlery, pizza pans, glassware, tableware, and clothing, such as aprons and chef’s hats, and operates throughout the UK catering industry supplying restaurants and pubs, hotels and guest houses, residential homes and schools.

John Duggleby, who joins The Upton Group board, says: “There is significant demand for what we offer and I’m very excited about the future for Ebor Catering Supplies now that we can access the resources of a larger group, with experienced sales staff and form a strategic partnership with York Emporium.”

The Upton Group, which has more than 80 staff, has bases in Scarborough, York and Hull and supplies a wide range of refreshment solutions including confectionery vending, micro-market solutions and hot and cold drink dispensing as well as producing as artisan, hand-roasted coffees to a wide spectrum of enterprises from SMEs to international businesses throughout the UK.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Mike Clarke Communications .