Sainsbury’s and Boots’ fresh sandwich supplier Adelie Foods was today snapped up by private equity house HIG Europe for an undisclosed sum.

The deal, in which previous owners Ravi Deol and Sandeep Vyas will maintain a minority share in the business, allows HIG to advance plans to expand in the UK, while HIG’s existing network on the continent will aid Adelie’s European expansion.

The company, which also supplies several nationwide coffee shop chains and owns the Urban Eat sandwich brand, employs 2,800 staff in the UK, where it has six manufacturing plants and eight distribution depots. It is expected to turnover almost £300m in the current financial year.

“Adelie has developed a strong reputation for service, quality and innovation in the UK food-to-go sector,” said Paul Canning, MD of HIG Europe. “We’re delighted to become part of the Adelie team and to bring our resources to bear in supporting its expansion plans.”

Adelie MD Gavin Cox added: “We’ve concluded an agreement with like-minded partners who are such a strong cultural fit for our organisation and are so supportive of our plans for growth both in our home and international markets.”