St Helens Farm purchased by Norway’s Kavli

Kavli has acquired St Helen’s Farm in the UK, a producer of goat milk products.  The buy represents a major step forward for the Norwegian-owned Kavli Group, expanding its presence in the UK dairy market and boosting Kavli UK turnover to more than £40m (€46.5m). Kavli is owned by the Kavli Trust, a charitable organisation set up by the Kavli family in the 1960s to continue the good works of the founder, Olav Kavli. Profits from the group’s commercial activities are used to support good causes both in the UK and around the world – ranging from fair-trade and culture to health and education projects.

Currently, Kavli UK employs 190 people across two manufacturing sites, one based at Team Valley in Gateshead and the other at Kirkcudbright in south-west Scotland, making a range of food products including cheese spreads, snacks and ambient dips under the Primula brand and chilled pâté under the Castle MacLellan brand and for private label customers. Products are distributed to all major retailers, wholesalers and cash & carries in the UK.

Paul R Lewney, managing director of Kavli UK says,  “This acquisition is a major step forward for our business and demonstrates the confidence that the Kavli Group has in the UK and as part of on-going strategy we will continue to look for opportunities that build our position in added value sectors of the dairy market in the future. We are determined to succeed in our ambition to grow Kavli in the UK and whilst doing so make it a sustainable, world-class business which generates significant profits for the Kavli Trust to distribute to good causes.”

The St Helen’s Farm dairy, at Seaton Ross in the Vale of York, has 40 employees and produces goats’ milk, cheese, cream, butter, yogurts and ice cream to supply supermarkets across the country on a daily basis

Lewney adds, “We believe that Kavli and St Helen’s Farm are a good business fit in terms of customers and markets and are also well-aligned in terms of culture and values. Kavli’s unique ownership structure, long-term view towards value creation and the donation of our profits to good causes means that the business built up by Angus and Kathleen Wielkopolski is in safe hands and we are committed to build on their previous success and thus continue to grow the business at Seaton Ross.”

Angus Wielkopolski says, “We’re delighted the St Helen’s Farm business has gone to a good home, particularly given Kavli’s charitable ownership. We are confident that the business will continue to grow and prosper in the capable hands of Kavli.”