Two of the shareholders of European Oat Millers,
David and Bill Jordan, have acquired the shares of the company’s
chairman Moez Karsan and his wife Naseem Karsan. This gives the two
Jordan brothers majority ownership of the business as it embarks on the
next phase of its development.
Founded by the Karsan and Jordan families 30 years ago, European Oat Millers
has grown to be the second largest oat miller in Europe in terms of
capacity and the largest in terms of b2b market share. Moez and Naseem
Karsan managed the company on behalf of the shareholders until 2012,
when Alk Brand was appointed as Managing Director.
The Bedford-based company supplies oats and other grain based
ingredients to most of the major producers of porridges, muesli, granola
and other oat products such as biscuits. The company also operates a
world class retail cereal plant producing private label breakfast
cereals such as flakes, extruded products and granolas to many of the
top retailers in the UK and Europe.
The deal with the Jordan brothers is the latest in a business
relationship which dates back to Moez Karsan joining Jordan’s Cereals in
the 1980s to help it to introduce the first granola bars into the UK
market before the Jordan family sold Jordan’s Cereals to ABF in 2008.
Moez and Bill will continue to work together promoting their passion for
bio-diversity through the Conservation Grade programme.
“I’m delighted that David and Bill wanted to buy my stake in this
great business,” said Moez. “It cements a friendship that has lasted for
over 30 years and I know the company will go from strength to strength
under their stewardship. After dedicating most of my life to growing European Oat Millers to the sizeable business it is today we have decided to focus our time on other pursuits and family interests.”
Commented Bill Jordan: “The contribution Moez has made to this sector and to European Oat Millers
in particular cannot be underestimated. We wish him and his wife an
extremely long and happy future. The greatest testament to his
achievement will be the continued growth and prosperity of this
business, to which we and the management team are dedicated.
“The new European Oat Millers
Board will be backing our management team with an investment programme
aimed to create substantial additional capacity in our milling
business. European Oat Millers
will continue to invest to make sure we keep delighting our customers
with world class technical and service standards and to help the company
to keep expanding its horizons.”
Operating from three sites in Bedford, European Oat Millers
employs 150 people and has grown rapidly in recent years with a
particular emphasis on export markets. The company has recently joined
The Sunday Times International Track 200 league table, highlighted for
its export growth over a two-year period which includes exporting
globally to markets including India, China and South Africa.
Managing director Alk Brand, who joined the business with a
successful track record in grain processing, is bullish about its
prospects. “We are seeing sustained growth in export and domestic
markets, reflecting the increasing popularity of oats as an ingredient
among manufacturers and consumers,” he said. “We are proud to supply
blue chip food manufacturers and retailers from our production
facilities and will continue to support our customers through investment
in innovation and expansion.”
The Global Miller
This blog is maintained by The Global Miller staff and is supported by the magazine GFMT
which is published by Perendale Publishers Limited.
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