Food and engineering group Carr’s has sold its flour milling business to Whitworths Holdings for £36m.
Carr’s said that the disposal of its food division will enable it to increase focus on its growing agriculture and engineering divisions.
Carr’s CEO Tim Davies commented: "At a time of increasing competition and volatility in the flour market, consolidation is essential and inevitable.
“This acquisition by Whitworths presents a great opportunity for the Food division to continue building on the strong foundations laid over many years.”
The company has also announced that it would be returning £16m to its shareholders in the form of a special dividend of 17.54 pence per share after the completion of the transaction.
According to Carr’s, the remaining £8.9m of the net consideration will be used to strengthen its balance sheet while giving an opportunity to expand its continuing businesses through acquisition and organic growth.
Whitworths Holdings chairman Martin George commented: "Carr's Flour Mills Ltd shares a similar history to Whitworths in that it is a long standing business which has received material investment in recent years.
“The business is a great fit geographically and will give us access to the South East, North of England and Scottish markets that would otherwise not be available and means we have national reach.”
Whitworths, established in 1886, is a supplier of branded and own label dried fruit, nut and seed products.
In September 2013, private equity firm Equistone Partners Europe acquired a majority stake in Whitworths from European Capital in a deal which valued the company at £90m.
