Wholesale giant Metro has acquired UK-based food service delivery (FSD) specialist Caterite Food and Wineservice for an undisclosed amount.
The acquisition will accelerate Metro’s expansion of its food service delivery capabilities in England, Scotland and Wales, the company added.
It will also complement the offerings of its subsidiary, Classic Fine Foods UK, which supplies premium customers in the greater London area, South West and central parts of the UK.
Guillaume Deruyter, member of the management board of Metro AG and responsible for the FSD businesses, explained, "We are delighted to welcome the successful food service specialist Caterite as another member of our international FSD family. In addition to their strong local roots, the employees and management also bring a high level of expertise in the delivery business, and we warmly welcome them.
"Metro sees the acquisition as an opportunity to grow in the attractive UK HoReCa market and to create synergies with Classic Fine Foods UK. This brings us closer to our strategic goal of successively expanding the share of delivery in total sales."
Caterite
Caterite offers fresh and frozen food, groceries, value-added products under its eponymous brand and beverages under the Grapevine brand.
The company generated £44 million in 2023, with low single-digit million EBITDA and free-cash flow.
Its key customer segments include hotels, restaurants, bars and cafés. Products are supplied from three sites with a fleet of 70 multi-temperature trucks.
Around sixty percent of the company's sales are processed via the company’s web shop, offering a high level of personalised customer service.
