UK— UK organic cereals and baking ingredients business Doves Farm Foods, has purchased the Wessex Mill flour brand from the family owners for an undisclosed sum in a deal expected to close before the end of the autumn.
Doves Farm, which dates back to 1977, manufactures organic, gluten-free foods such as breakfast cereal and biscuits, as well as flours, under the Freee and Doves Farm brands. It also supplies baking ingredients such as chocolate chips and yeast.
Based in Hungerford in the south-east English county of Berkshire, the company generated a turnover in the year to 30 June 2021 of GBP23.9m (US$27.5m), up slightly from GBP22.9m (US$26.3m) in the previous 12 months.
CEO Ms. Marriage said: “Wessex Mill has an excellent reputation for milling the finest quality award-winning flour from locally sourced grain and serving discerning customers across the UK. We are excited to take on the brand to continue this tradition and bring it to even more bakers up and down the country.”
Wessex Mill owners Clark (Wantage) had planned to close the mill by year-end, ending more than 100 years of milling wheat in the region.
It was a difficult decision to close the mill, but we are very pleased to have been able to transfer the brand to another family flour mill, that will continue the tradition of milling local grains in the North Wessex Downs
Paul Munsey, the managing director at Clarks (Wantage), blamed energy prices which were “increasing five-fold” and the “soaring” price of wheat and materials.
Europe is struggling to contain an energy crisis that could lead to rolling blackouts, shuttered factories and a deep recession. The primary cause: Russia has choked off the supplies of cheap natural gas that the continent depended on for years to run factories, generate electricity and heat homes.
On top of sky-high energy prices, the European agricultural sector is also suffering extreme weather events, with droughts, storms and frosts ravaging crops, that saw 47% of the EU territory placed under a drought warning in August.
Munsey added that while it was a difficult decision to close the mill, the company was very pleased to have been able to transfer the brand to another family flour mill, who will continue the tradition of milling local grains in the North Wessex Downs.
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