Revenues have soared past the £1bn mark at The Compleat Food Group as the chilled foods giant continued to bulk up its portfolio.
Growth in underlying volumes of 2% contributed to a 31% rise in turnover to £1.03bn in the 52 weeks to 29 March 2025.
Alongside organic growth, the performance was supported by a series of strategic acquisitions, including SK Foods and Zorba Foods and speciality food producer Harvey & Brockless in 2024.
It has continued to grow the group in the new financial year with more deals, including the purchase of The Real Yorkshire Pudding Co, Freshpak, the assets of plant-based cheesemaker Julienne Bruno and the Greencore soup and sauces factory.
Revenues from its brands, which include Wall’s Pastry, Pork Farms, Wrights, Unearthed, Squeaky Bean and Palace Culture, jumped 30% to £233.3m in the year thanks to a focus on innovation. Compleat highlighted fermented brand Vadasz as a star performer in 2024, topped off by it winning Brand of the Year at The Grocer Gold Awards.
Compleat is also a major own label supplier for pastry, sweet bakery, party food, olives and antipasti, added-value egg products, continental meats, dips and sauces and plant-based food. It boosted retailer brand revenues in the year by 5% on a like-for-like basis to £765.5m as it developed new products and won new contracts, as well as renewing other long-term partnerships.
Underlying operating profit increased in the year to £47.7m, up from £32.7m in the previous 53-week period.
The improvement in profitability came despite ongoing cost inflation, which Compleat pinned on global commodity prices and the impact of government policies. Compleat offset the inflationary pressures through investment in automation, lean cost control and price rises.
Exceptional costs of £21.2m, related to M&A activity and other one-off events such as consolidating its manufacturing footprint, led to an overall operating profit of £26.2m, up from £17.8m in the previous period.
Pre-tax losses increased from £48.8m to £64.5m as finance costs, including interest on bank loans and other lending arrangements, ramped up to £92m.
“From the strong growth across our brands and retail brand partnerships, to the significant organic investment alongside acquisitions we have made, 2025 has been another important year in the growth and evolution of The Compleat Food Group,” said CEO Nick Field.
“It marks another great step forward in our intent to continually raise the bar.
“This has been made possible through our exceptional people and by continuing to invest in developing market-leading products to delight our customers and consumers alike. This has resulted in the group driving market share gains and building on our position as a leading chilled prepared food manufacturer in the UK.”
Compleat was formed in 2021 when PE firm PAI merged Winterbotham Darby and Addo Food. Today, it has a workforce of more than 6,000 staff across 17 sites and annual turnover has reached £1.3bn.
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