Freeths advise on disposal of European Oat Millers to Richardson International

5th July 2017

Peter Crawford and Lisa Wallis from Freeths' Sheffield corporate team advised shareholders Bill and David Jordan on their sale of European Oat Millers Limited to Richardson International Limited.

The property and tax aspects were dealt with by Peter Baker and Claire Boyce respectively, also from Freeths' Sheffield office. Corporate finance advice for the sellers was provided by Martin Bonynge of Prosperity Wealth Management Limited. Based in Bedford, European Oat Millers is a leader in the oat milling business. It is the second largest oat miller in Europe, producing a wide range of oat products, including various oat flakes, flour and groats, as well as wheat and barley flakes and extruded ingredients and products. Products are sold throughout the UK, with exports to continental Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. The company employs in excess of 140 people. Richardson first entered the oat milling business in 2013 with the acquisition of three oat processing plants in Canada and is now the largest oat miller in North America, headquartered in Winnipeg with over 2,500 employees worldwide. Richardson International is Canada's leading agribusiness and one of Canada's Best Managed Companies. Curt Vossen, President and CEO of Richardson International, said: -We are excited to build on our success in value-added processing and extend our food manufacturing footprint to a new geography. As the largest oat miller in North America, we now look forward to building a presence in Europe to enhance our ability to compete in the global marketplace. -European Oat Millers is a solid, family-owned business that is well-established in the UK. We have been very impressed with both the quality of the business and its people and believe it is an excellent complement to our Richardson Milling division, says Vossen. -Looking ahead, we will build on the investments that have already been made, including increasing manufacturing capacity, and will continue to seek opportunities to expand our global business. Bill Jordan, who co-founded European Oat Millers with his brother, David, said: -My brother and I are very proud of the business that we have successfully grown over the past three decades. We are pleased to be passing it on to a similar family-owned business that shares both our vision for growth and our core values and we look forward to watching the business evolve.