Meat firm Cranswick acquires sausage manufacturer Blakemans for £32m

Pork and chicken supplier Cranswick has acquired rival Blakemans for £32m.

Staffordshire-based Blakemans is a family business that has been manufacturing specialist raw and cooked sausage and meat products for over 70 years and employs a total workforce of approximately 290.

The business has a strong foothold in the UK foodservice market and supplies sausages to UK fish and chip shops. It also provides products to ready-to-eat meal  manufacturers.

Cranswick started life in 1975 as a group of Yorkshire pig farmers joining forces to mill their own feed. Today the multi-channel group operates from 18 locations across the country, including owned subsidiaries Katsouris (a Mediterranean foods producer), the Yorkshire Baker and pork and poultry processor Froch Foods, which was acquired in 2024.

The Blakemans buyout is intended to add to Cranswick’s capacity in raw and cooked sausage production whilst enabling efficient supply into the foodservice market.

Adam Couch, Cranswick’s chief executive officer, said: “Blakemans is highly complementary to our existing added-value gourmet business. We look forward to welcoming the entire Blakemans team to Cranswick and to working with them to develop the business further.”

Blakemans founding family members, and current CEO and finance director of the business, Philip Blakeman and Susan Cope, added: “The two businesses complement each other in so many ways and we also look forward to working with the management at Cranswick to continue producing quality products into the foodservice sector.”

Corporate finance house Oghma Partners advised Blakemans on the deal.