Findus to Launch Young's Seafood Limited

By bringing these UK businesses together, Young's Seafood Limited will become the UK's leader in chilled & frozen, own-label and branded fish and seafood.

2/9/2011 --- Young's Seafood, The Seafood Company and Findus UK will be brought together to create Young's Seafood Limited, the UK’s largest supplier of fish and seafood to retailers and consumers. With a turnover of around £600 million, Young's Seafood Limited's meals will be enjoyed by millions of consumers every day. Young's Seafood Limited will be part of the European parent, Findus Group, which is led by Chief Executive, Chris Britton.

Unrivalled fish expertise
Young's has over 200 years of experience in producing sustainable seafood and is Britain's best loved name in fish. The Seafood Company is the leading supplier of chilled fish and seafood to UK retailers. By bringing these UK businesses together, Young's Seafood Limited will become the UK's leader in chilled & frozen, own-label and branded fish and seafood. Leveraging its market-leading expertise in sourcing, sustainability, quality, category and consumer insight, and new product development, Young's Seafood Limited will provide a fish and seafood Centre of Excellence.

Leadership
Leendert den Hollander, currently Managing Director of the Findus Group UK & Ireland, will be appointed as Chief Executive of Young's Seafood Limited. He will be joined by Pete Ward, currently Managing Director of The Seafood Company, who will become Chief Operating Officer of Young's Seafood Limited. Louise Patterson, from the current UK HR team will become Young's Seafood Limited's HR Director. Further announcements on appointments are to follow.

Accelerating growth in close partnership with retailers
Leendert den Hollander, the new Chief Executive of Young's Seafood Limited, said: "I'm delighted to announce that we intend to launch Young's Seafood Limited, the UK's largest supplier of fish and seafood to retailers and consumers. Fish is a fantastic source of protein and has an essential part to play in the healthy diet of the UK consumer. We love fish - that's why fish is right at the heart of our business - and we will further accelerate growth by drawing on our scale, heritage and leadership in fish and seafood, in close partnership with our retailer customers."

Organisation
Young's Seafood Limited will employ 3,200 people across 13 UK sites. Grimsby - the spiritual home of Young's - will continue to be Young's Seafood Limited's Manufacturing and NPD Centre of Excellence, alongside its commercial leadership base in London. The business has invested over £1.5M in operations in Grimsby in the past 18 months. Young's Seafood Limited will continue to have a strong base in Scotland, drawing on the invaluable fish expertise of The Seafood Company's manufacturing base.