TIBBETT & BRITTEN GETS FRESH ANGLE ON FRANCE & SPAIN WITH ACQUISITION OF TCA
Tibbett & Britten Group plc has substantially increased the scale and capabilities of its French and Spanish logistics operations with the acquisition at the beginning of February of the TCA group of companies, including its French holding company – Cipar Developpement SA – (“TCA”) for an undisclosed cash sum. TCA is a private group operating internationally in the fresh produce transport and distribution sector in both France and Spain, and generated revenues of over FFR188 million (£17 million) in 1998.
Founded in 1990 by previous owner Roland Andres, TCA employs around 250 people and is among the top ten fresh fruit and vegetable logistics specialists in France, and a significant player in Spain. The business has three distribution centres at Bordeaux (pictured above) and Cavaillon in Southern France, and Valencia in Spain – including 18,000 sq m (200,000 sq ft) of temperature-controlled warehousing.
The company undertakes distribution to wholesalers and retailers throughout France and Spain using a fleet of 180 refrigerated commercial vehicles and trailers.
TCA’s operations have been incorporated as a separate division within Tibbett & Britten France, under the leadership of the current Operations Director, Gérard Chapelle.
Most of the major retailers in France and Spain are clients of the newly acquired business – including Carrefour, Promodès, Pryca and Eroski – and many of these are already customers of Tibbett & Britten. Given the Group’s trans-European client base, it now has the potential to extend these fresh produce logistics operations internationally.
The acquisition of TCA reinforces Tibbett & Britten’s operations in one of its core sectors – food & grocery logistics – and in two important national markets where it is already a major player. The Group is the largest drinks logistics business in France, for example, handling some 3,000,000 pallets of canned and bottled drinks a year – and it also has other significant distribution operations in the ambient grocery, clothing, housewares, personal products, pharmaceuticals and automotive sectors across France, Spain and elsewhere in Europe.
Tibbett & Britten now operates from a total of 42 sites in France – many of them with intermodal (road-rail) facilities – where it employs 2100 people. In Iberia it has 25 principal sites and employs approximately 900 people.
Ken Butt, Managing Director European Operations for Tibbett & Britten Group, explains: “TCA is a profitable business which will form the backbone of our development in the fresh produce sector in France and Spain. Much of the distribution in these areas is in the hands of local wholesalers, but the large retailers are now starting to take control of the supply chain – as they have done elsewhere. Tibbett & Britten is working for most of these retailers already, and this acquisition puts us in an excellent position to take full advantage of this channel change to develop new business.”
Tibbett & Britten France SA was established as a wholly owned subsidiary in 1992 and made its first major acquisition – Clef Entrepolis – in 1994. The British based Group is one of the world’s leading logistics specialists, employing 31,000 people in 32 countries.
ENDS
9 February 2000
