Bakkavor Group has entered into an agreement to acquire Blueberry Foods, a desserts business owned by Samworth Brothers.

The move sees Bakkavor look to boost its position in the chilled desserts category and add new capabilities such as hot desserts.

Blueberry operates from a facility in Leicestershire with approximately 420 employees and produces a range of desserts for UK grocery retailers. An investment of more than £10 million over the last 18 months has expanded the factory footprint and upgraded equipment. Last year, Blueberry recorded revenues of £42 million and the business made a loss of £1 million at an EBITDA level.

Agust Gudmundsson, Bakkavor CEO, said: “The acquisition of Blueberry is a great strategic fit for Bakkavor. Together with our recent addition of Haydens Bakery and a major investment at our site at Newark, our long-term commitment to growing our desserts category in the UK is clear.

“The team at Blueberry share our passion for providing outstanding service, quality and value to customers and we look forward to welcoming them to the group.”

Bakkavor added that the deal with further strengthen its desserts offer to its two largest customers, both of which are also important customers of Blueberry.

Last November, Bakkavor opened two new factories in the US as part of a strategy to accelerate its international expansion.

The company said the fresh prepared food market in the US is “significantly underserved compared to the UK”, and, as such, presents an opportunity for it to strengthen its customer offer.

Bakkavor provides four categories of fresh prepared food: meals, salads, desserts, and pizza and bread. Its international segment has operations in the US and China, supplying both retail and foodservice customers.