Press Releases

Vitacress adquire empresa produtora de ervas aromáticas

Vitacress - a wholly owned subsidiary of RAR Group, a Portuguese private company - has agreed to acquire 100% of the capital of Van Heyningen Brothers Limited (VHB), with effect from the 8th September 2010. Based in the south of England, VHB is one of the largest producers and suppliers of fresh herbs to the UK retailers. The completion of this transaction is subject only to the approval of the Office of Fair Trading.

The two VHB nurseries in West Sussex supply over 14 million pots of fresh herbs per year and over 23 million packs of fresh cut and bunched herbs per year, sourced from own production and selected other British and overseas growers. In 2009, the company had a turnover of £26m (€29m), employing around 320 people.

This transaction marks the next phase in the development of Vitacress’ fresh herbs business. For many years, Vitacress has been growing some of the more popular herbs. In 2008, with the acquisition of Lighthorne Herbs Ltd, the company moved into the speciality fresh herbs sector. With the purchase of VHB, who have successfully developed the sector for potted fresh herbs, Vitacress can now offer customers a full range of fresh herbs. 

This latest addition to Vitacress is in line with the RAR Group’s intention of building upon its already strong base of business in the fresh produce sector.