Eville and Jones sale agreement announced

The sale of a major UK veterinary public health company will help it to deliver its plans for future growth, bosses have claimed.

The deal between Eville and Jones (E&J) and the Phenna Group is the 15^th completed by the Nottingham-based organisation this year alone, and the fourth involving firms in the food and health sciences sector.

The agreement is not expected to lead to any staffing cuts among the near 1,000-strong E&J workforce and chief executive Charles Hartwell said his team was “hugely excited” by it.

Growth plans

Mr Hartwell said: “Our business has grown steadily over recent years and I believe, with Phenna’s support, that can continue and allow us to expand more rapidly into complementary services and geographical areas.

“I’m confident in our ambitious future growth strategy and look forward to working with the Phenna team to deliver it.”

The deal is said to be completely separate from the process that saw E&J divest itself of the Vorenta Group in the spring, following an investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority.

‘Largest deal’

It is also the fourth acquisition to be confirmed by the Phenna Group since the start of November and its chief executive, Paul Barry, said acquiring E&J “really augments” its broader platform in the industry.

He said: “By headcount, this is our largest deal to date and their experienced team creates a UK wide footprint of experts, that we hope to leverage into new adjacent services into the future.

“E&J provide a critical service to the UK food industry and I’m proud to have them join Phenna Group.

“I look forward to working with Charles and his team to help them deliver their exciting growth plans.”