A business deal that will see Adelie Foods, one of the UK’s leading chilled Food to Go manufacturers take over the Bite Group in Enniskillen, is set to create new opportunities for the company and the workface.

Adelie Foods which has manufacturing and distribution centres across the UK this week announced it has acquired the Bite Group, based at Lackaboy Industrial Estate which serves the Irish market with fresh sandwiches, wraps, baguettes, toasties, paninnis and sandwich fillers.

Both companies said the deal will further strengthen Adelie’s existing manufacturing and distribution operation and provide the company with access to the growing Irish Food to Go market.

Commenting on the deal, Mark Keating, Adelie Foods’ Director of International Business explained: “I am delighted that we have been able to acquire Irish Food to Go manufacturer and distributor, The Bite Group. This will further strengthen our intention to be the leading Food-to-Go supplier in the UK and Irish markets.

“I am extremely excited by the opportunities that the deal will provide both us and our customers for future growth.” The Bite Group, formed in 1998, supplies a wide range of quality brand and private label chilled ready to eat foods, and third party products, to the retail, foodservice and coffee chains. It has distribution locations in Belfast, Dublin and Cork.

The founder of the Bite Group, Michael Keogh commented: “I had been speaking to Adelie for months and am delighted to conclude our discussions.

“The deal is a great opportunity for both businesses and will allow us to extend our existing customer offer and enable them to share with us the exciting opportunities that lay ahead. I am looking forward to working with Adelie and hopefully creating more employment opportunities within the region in the future.

The Bite Group which employs around 100 people, invested in a new 20,000 sq ft state of the art production facility in Enniskillen during 2007 and has distribution centres in Enniskillen, Belfast, Dublin and Cork.

Adelie Foods is one of the UK’s leading chilled Food to Go manufacturers employing 2,800 people at 11 manufacturing and distribution location across the UK, mostly in England.

It currently supplies the retail, coffee shop, contract catering and travel sectors with a wide range of high quality branded and private label sandwiches, salads and snack foods and owns the UK’s number one Food to Go brand URBAN eat. Adelie makes over five million sandwiches per week.

In 2012, the company supplied many of the sandwiches during the London Olympics and Paralympic Games.