One of the North East鈥檚 most dynamic businesses has been bought by an international company operating in its sector.
South Shields firm The Punjab Kitchen, which is one of the 海角视频鈥檚 leading suppliers of texture-modified meals, particularly for patients in hospitals, has been acquired by international foodservice distributor Bidfood.
The company was created by Mohammed Ishaq - the current Durham and Sunderland Business Executive of the Year, who was last year awarded an MBE for his services to innovation and the economy in Tyne and Wear - initially to make meals for patients in hospitals.
The firm later came up with the revolutionary idea of making food for people with dysphagia - those with swallowing difficulties - with Mohammed, who had previously run companies in the retail sector, developing a wide range of pureed meals which look and taste exactly like fully formed food.
Setting up with only 10 staff, the family has built the business into a firm that now serves 120,000 patients a week and employs around 100 people.
Mr Ishaq and his son Yaqoob, who recently took over as MD of the firm, will stay on to run Punjab Kitchen as an autonomous business within the the Bidfood group, with the investment and access to the multinational鈥檚 supply chain and marketing resources being used to help the company grow and enhance its position in the marketplace.
Mr Ishaq said: 鈥淥ur focus is very much about service excellence, putting the customer first and we have worked hard to offer our clients meals, which not only look good but taste good too.
鈥淲hen looking for an investor, we were keen to choose a like-minded business who were customer, research and technology focussed as well as one which was committed to continuously developing our offerings.鈥
North East commercial law firm Square One Law and accountants KPMG advised the shareholders of The Punjab Kitchen Ltd on the transaction.
Ian Gilthorpe, senior partner at Square One Law, said 鈥淲e were delighted to have advised Ishaq and the shareholders of Punjab Kitchen, alongside KPMG on this transaction. The sale demonstrates that there is significant interest from international companies in leading family-run North East food manufacturing businesses.
鈥淭his was a great transaction to work on, and with both the Bidfood and Punjab Kitchen teams working collaboratively, we were able to complete the deal within five weeks.鈥
Rod Wilkinson, head of corporate finance in the North East at KPMG, who led the transaction commented: 鈥淚t has been a real pleasure to work with Ishaq and the team on this deal.
鈥淭he Punjab Kitchen is a very special business, which attracted strong investor interest due to its niche position as one of the 海角视频鈥檚 leading manufacturers of frozen, texture modified and specialist dietary-specific meals for the healthcare sector.鈥
