Halo Foods – which manufactures snack bars under the Harvest Cheweee brand and for a range of customers - generated turnover of €18m ($20m) in the first six months of this year, according to Raisio.
The business has been acquired by Dutch ‘hands-on’ investment firm Nimbus, which has previously invested in businesses including Rotterdam-based miller Meneba and confectioner Lamy Lutti.
The deal includes Halo’s factories in Newport and Swindon as well as the Dormen snacking nuts brand. The company’s 300 employees have also transferred to the new owner.
Raisio, which will record a €19m ($21m) loss from the deal, said it was withdrawing from manufacturing snack bars marketed under its partners' brands and wanted to focus on development and marketing its own branded products.
Expand range of branded products
“For Raisio, it is important to expand the range of its branded products in line with consumer needs, not to produce itself all the products in the range,” said Raisio CEO Matti Rihko.
Halo became part of Raisio when the company acquired confectionery business Glisten in 2010.
In December last year, Raisio announced it was closing the Halo factory in Southall, near London, as it restructured its UK cereal and snacks business. Production of snack bars were centralized at Newport, packaging of ‘nibbles’ and nuts centralized at the Swindon factory, and in March the company ceased production of its Honey Monster breakfast cereals.
Honey Monster cereals are now produced and marketed in the UK under licence by The Brecks Company.