Creed Foodservice, one of the UK's leading foodservice providers, has agreed to be acquired by North Shields-based Kitwave Wholesale Group (Kitwave) for £70 million.

The move will see Creed Foodservice take on the principal role within Kitwave's Foodservice division, which includes the trading operations of David Miller Frozen Foods, Total Foodservice, M.J. Baker Foodservice and Westcountry Food Holdings.

Creed, which has about 450 employees, has three depots in Staverton, Derbyshire and Buckinghamshire. 

The most recent company accounts for the year ending December 2023 showed Creed's turnover was just over £124 million, up from £101 million the previous year. Revenue for 2024 is expected to be around £140 million.

The company has seen turnover increase substantially in recent years, despite facing the ongoing challenges from the pandemic, Brexit and other world events which have blighted supply chains.

With Creed's scale, Kitwave's Foodservice division will see depot numbers increase to 10 (16 including the on-trade business), further establishing the business as a national distributor with a total customer base of 10,700 across education, healthcare, leisure, hospitality, business and industry, and out-of-home sectors, with its annual revenues approaching £275 million.

There will be no changes to the Creed depot, operational, sales, head office teams, management team and board. Chris Creed remains CEO of Creed Foodservice, with Philip de Ternant continuing as chairman, who will be responsible for the strategic overview and integration into the foodservice division.

Miles Roberts will continue to be managing director, running the day-to-day with his current directors. Philip Creed, the other family member involved in the business, will continue to support the company's sustainability initiatives.

Chris Creed, CEO of Creed Foodservice, said: "We have been evaluating our plans to take our business to the next stage for some time now and are delighted to be able to share our growth plans.

"Our objectives have always been to keep the Creed name, remain a member of the Country Range Group, secure the right investment and strengthen our infrastructure and capacity to secure our long-term growth; and I'm pleased to say that all these goals have been achieved.

"Creed's ethos and business approach remain at the heart of our operations. Creed has thrived on family values for over 50 years and our people, culture and values remain woven into the fabric of our extended business. This move strengthens our position within the market, offering the best possible outcome for our business, people and customers."

Ben Maxted, CEO at Kitwave Wholesale Group, said: "Creed has an exceptional heritage and is one of the UK's leading foodservice wholesalers, so we are delighted to have reached this agreement, which will extend our foodservice division.

"Strategically, Creed will significantly expand our geographical presence, bridging our operations in the North and South and creating a fully integrated national delivery network. We are looking forward to working with Creed's dedicated and experienced team and excited to see our foodservice division continue to go from strength to strength."

Creed Foodservice, originally founded in 1972, is one of the UK's leading foodservice providers, specialising in providing a comprehensive range of products and services to caterers and chefs across the UK, including grocery, frozen, chilled, Creed Fresh Produce, Creed Family Butchers, beverages, alcohol and non-food categories.

A founding member of the Country Range Group of independent wholesalers, the business is renowned for its service excellence and supporting its customers in achieving their food strategies and commercial objectives, consistently featuring in the 'Best Companies' accreditation scheme.

In recent years, Creed has welcomed hundreds of people to its trade food festival, this year held at Brickhampton Golf Club in Gloucestershire.

Kitwave was founded in 1987 following the acquisition of a single-site confectionery wholesale business based in North Shields. The company's growth to date has been achieved both organically and through a strategy of acquiring predominantly family-owned, complementary businesses in the fragmented UK grocery and foodservice wholesale market.

Kitwave Foodservice revenue was £178.6m in 2023 and £93m for the first half of 2024.

Kitwave Group plc , which has 42,000 independent customers, was admitted to trading on AIM of the London Stock Exchange in May 2021.

Punchline-Gloucester.com says: "Creed Foodservice is a really well known, well respected Gloucestershire family business. It was phenomenal the way they bounced back from the pandemic and managed to increase their market share to grow the business. It appears that the new company is buying Creed not just for their experience and professional service but for their brand name which is well recognised and respected throughout the food industry. We hope it will stay in place for many years to come. Congratulations to Chris Creed and the rest of the team from all of us here at Punchline."