Gresham backs Brand's acquisition of Telford Foods. £8m development capital for technology and new products

Gresham, the private equity house, has provided Brand Partnership with £8m in development capital to fund the acquisition of dried soups and sauces manufacturer, Telford Foods, from the Netherlands-based Wessanen group.

The two businesses are complementary. Brand produces a range of "value-added" dried foods such as savoury rice, pasta and sauce, soups and instant hot snacks. Telford, best-known for its Symington's brand of dried soup, has developed technology for dried foods, which enables the production of granules rather than powder. This technique will be applied to Brand's products while Telford's operation will benefit from Brand's strong reputation for service and new product development.

Brand Partnership director Tim Robertshaw says: "The acquisition of Telford brings us product categories adjacent to our existing range and state of the art technology which complements our existing heavy investment programme in new plant and machinery. These are both key elements of our expansion strategy." Wessanen decided to sell Telford Foods as the business was not core to its strategy of focusing on organic foods. "Gresham's continued backing has enabled us to take advantage of this development opportunity," Robertshaw adds.

Gresham originally backed Robertshaw and Andy Micklethwaite two years ago when they bought the Leeds-based Brand Partnership from its owners.

Gresham's Christian Bruning says: "Brand has excellent growth prospects, thanks to its strong management and excellent production facilities. We were happy to provide further funding for this acquisition which brings sizeable sales volume and valuable technology."