METRO a German based international food wholesaler has acquired Cumbria based Caterite on last week in a bid to expand its national delivery capabilities.
The Cumbrian firm operates a site in Penrith alongside its Embleton HQ and employs around 200 people supplying over 2,000 independent customers throughout hotel, restaurant and cafe industries generating revenues £44 million in 2023.
Caterite was formed in 1969 but its roots go back to 1947 when Caterite Chairman Keith Graham’s father established a mobile grocery shop in the Keswick area. Keith took over in 1964 and five years later he bought the old West Cumberland Farmers warehouse in Keswick and Caterite was born.
Delivering wholesale supplies on a cash-and-carry basis to the local catering industry.
The 1980s saw Caterite develop a purpose-built warehouse in Keswick and by 1991, a new wholesale distribution centre and retail superstore was built on the site of the old bus station at Tithebarn Street in Keswick. Still expanding, Caterite relocated the wholesale business to the current site at Embleton, Cockermouth, in 1999.
Three years later, the retail business was sold to Booths.
In 2014 Caterite expanded the operation further when local Fruit & Vegetable Specialists Four Seasons Foods of Threlkeld was acquired followed in 2018 with the acquisition of James Fruit and Veg in Penrith developing into the company’s new service CaterPrep at the Penrith site.
In 2019 Caterite acquired Highgate Meats of Troutbeck and relocated the business into a custom-built fresh meat facility at it site in Embleton.
METRO is a leading international food wholesaler which specialises in serving the needs of hotels, restaurants, and caterers as well as independent merchants (Traders). Around the world,
METRO has approx. 15 million customers in more than 30 countries and employs over 89.000 people worldwide. In 2022/23, METRO generated sales of €30.6 billion.
Guillaume Deruyter, Member of the Management Board of METRO AG and responsible for the firms FSD businesses, said: "We are delighted to welcome the successful food service specialist Caterite as another member of our international FSD family. In addition to their strong local roots, the employees and management also bring a high level of expertise in the delivery business, and we warmly welcome them! METRO sees the acquisition as an opportunity to grow in the attractive UK HoReCa market and to create synergies with Classic Fine Foods UK. This brings us closer to our strategic goal of successively expanding the share of delivery in total sales."
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