LEWES, England — HMS, the independently owned parent company of ingredient distributors Kent Foods, BFP and Garrett Ingredients, has acquired Henley Bridge Ingredients Ltd. (https://www.hbingredients.co.uk) – a distributor of high-end ingredients to chocolatiers, ice cream manufacturers, bakers and the food service industry.
HB Ingredients will continue to operate as a stand-alone business from its head office in Lewes, UK where it also operates a 30,000 square foot warehouse. The business will also continue to be run by the existing management team.
Commenting on the acquisition, Iain Dalglish Chairman of HMS says: “As a customer, I’ve always been impressed with the quality, service and value that HB Ingredients offers. They have an outstanding reputation and I’m delighted to welcome them into the HMS family. This is a successful, well-run business so HMS will be taking a hands-off approach, with the existing management team given the freedom to operate the business as it always has been. I know they have exciting plans for the future – various initiatives that will build an even better customer experience and stronger platform for partner brands – and HMS is looking forward to supporting these with our considerable resources.”
Tony Mycock, founder of HB Ingredients: “For the last year or so, both Trevor and I have stepped more into the background as the Senior Management Team have been very successfully running the day to day business. After 47 years in the food ingredients industry and 21 years since I founded HB Ingredients, I have decided to finally retire. When planning this, the key consideration for us was to make sure the business passed to an owner who would further develop the business whilst preserving the facility and employees here in Lewes. So we are handing the baton over to a carefully chosen partner which shares HB Ingredients values – flexible, human and customer focussed. I’ve no doubt that HMS is a great home for HB Ingredients.”
About HMS
Through subsidiaries such as Kent Foods, BFP and Garrett Ingredients, HMS is one of Europe’s largest food ingredient distributors. Founded in 1992 HMS has a turnover in excess of £200m and provides UK and European coverage through a network of five warehouses and 57 vehicles.
About HB Ingredients
Henley Bridge Ingredients Ltd. (https://www.hbingredients.co.uk) is a distributor of high-end ingredients to chocolatiers, ice cream manufacturers, bakers and the food service industry. Founded in 1998, HB Ingredients is now one of the UK’s largest distributors of chocolate products and has built a reputation for quality, service and value.
