PKF Francis Clark advises Agrova International on £35m acquisition of Sunrise Eggs

PKF Francis Clark provided financial and tax due diligence services to Agrova International in connection with its £35m (€40m) acquisition of UK-based egg producer Sunrise Group. The transaction marks a significant cross-border deal in the European agri-food sector.

Agrova International, the Latvian parent company of APF Holdings AS, is a leading European agri-food group focused on sustainable poultry and egg production. Backed by Accession Capital Partners, Agrova has expanded its operational footprint and strengthened its position as a pan-European player in the egg and egg protein industry through this strategic acquisition.

Sunrise Group is a family-run business and one of the UK’s largest egg producers, with a turnover of approximately £34m. Founded in the 1960s, the company supplies UK retail chains, food manufacturers and the hospitality sector. The group’s farms are located across Leicestershire and it works with contracted producers throughout the UK, while its central grading and packing facility processes more than four million eggs each week.

Our corporate finance and tax specialists supported Agrova throughout the transaction. Their work included comprehensive financial and tax due diligence, tax structuring and transaction advisory over several months.

The deal ranks among the largest outbound acquisitions by a Latvian company in recent years.

Juris Adamovics, founder of Agrova International and APF Holdings, said: “We are grateful to the team at PKF Francis Clark for their help, dedication and expertise, which played a crucial role in enabling us to complete this transaction. It was a great pleasure working together during this deal, which will further strengthen our position in the European market and drive the next phase of growth.

“Sunrise is a company with strong fundamentals, a production capacity comparable to our infrastructure in Latvia, and a well-established trading network across the UK. This transaction will more than double Agrova International’s scale and revenue, giving us access to one of Europe’s most advanced and dynamic food markets.”

PKF Francis Clark’s team comprised Andrew Killick, Rob Gear, Tom Slade, Sophie Swift and Will Sargent, together with tax specialists Adam Kefford, Callum West, Joe Rowsell and Lisa Taylor.

Tom Slade, corporate finance associate director at PKF Francis Clark, said: “We’re delighted to have advised on another cross-border transaction, supporting our client every step of the way during what was a long and painstaking due diligence process. This was a milestone deal for APF Holdings and Agrova International, and we wish them every success with their growth ambitions.”

Adam Kefford, tax partner at PKF Francis Clark, added: “This was an interesting deal to work on, particularly as we provided tax structuring advice in respect of the group’s expansion into the UK, in addition to the specific transactional tax support. It’s another great example of our tax and corporate finance teams collaborating closely to help our clients achieve their ambitions.”

PKF Francis Clark is part of the PKF Global network of 214 independent accountancy firms in 150 countries.

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