The deal between Reynolds and South Wimbledon-based greengrocer Solstice is official.
Duff & Phelps completed the sale of business and assets of Solstice Limited from administration on Tuesday, preserving all 62 positions at Solstice’s South Wimbledon facility.
“We are pleased to announce the successful sale of the Solstice business to Reynolds, which has facilitated business continuity and has preserved the jobs of its entire workforce,” said Benjamin Wiles, Joint Administrator and Managing Director at Duff & Phelps. “We expect the business to go from strength to strength under its new ownership.”
The transaction was forged last Thursday through Hamsard 3471 Limited, a newly formed subsidiary of Reynolds, the Waltham Cross-based catering supplier that is one of the UK’s leading independent fresh fruit and vegetable distributors.
Solstice meanwhile has supplied speciality fruits and vegetables to London’s restaurants, hotels, bars and catering companies for the past 20 years.
“Both businesses share similar family values of excellent quality and service, but have their own, unique and enviable customer base,” says Tony Reynolds, managing director at Reynolds. “I am incredibly excited about the opportunities which lie ahead and would like to welcome the team at Solstice to the Reynolds family.”
Andy Weir, head of marketing at Reynolds, said the transition would be relatively seamless and that his company invested in Solstice in part because “the business has enormous potential.”
Phillip Britten, founder of Solstice, agreed. “I’ve no doubt that, by sharing best practices across both businesses, Solstice will have a very exciting and sustainable future ahead. I am delighted at the prospect of working with the Reynolds family.”
Starting out as a wholesaler in East London in 1945, Reynolds now works with some of the top names in the eating-out industry, such as Bills, Pret, Whitbread and Sodexo, providing more than 3,000 different types of produce and chilled foods from around the world, including 1,000 varieties of fruits and vegetables. It has seven satellite centres in addition to its national distribution center and makes more than 13,500 deliveries per week to foodservice outlets in the UK.
Reynolds was recently honoured for the fourth consecutive year as the best fruit and veg supplier in the UK by Restaurant Magazine.
