Harlech Foodservice takes over customer list of Pembrokeshire Foods

Harlech Foodservice has taken over the customer list of rival firm Pembrokeshire Foods.

After more than 30 years in charge at Pembrokeshire Foods, Josiah and Steffi George wanted to make sure their customers were well looked after following their decision to retire.

Pembrokeshire Foods, based at Hasguard Cross, near Haverfordwest, supplies more than 100 businesses across Pembrokeshire and into Ceredigion.

Last year, Harlech established offices and a distribution centre in Carmarthen as part of a £6 million expansion. Not long afterwards, the wholesaler, which also has bases in Merthyr Tydfil, Cricieth, Chester and Telford, took over Celtic Foodservices in Pembroke Dock.

In a letter to customers informing them of their retirement, the Georges said: “To ensure our customers have a supplier who cares about you and your business we have approached Harlech Foodservice and asked them to provide ongoing service to your business.

“Harlech have a core customer base in the tourism and hospitality sectors which aligns perfectly with that of Pembrokeshire Foods.

“They provide a large range of around 5,000 lines across frozen foods, butchery, groceries, soft drinks and snacks, hygiene and disposables and have a unique approach to ensuring customers receive genuinely competitive prices.”

According to Harlech’s managing director David Cattrall, the deal with Pembrokeshire Foods is another staging post in the company’s expansion plan.

Since last April, Harlech has gained 943 new independent customers and won 243 new contract customers across Wales and the border counties of England.

Cattrall said: “Steffi and Josiah can be rightly proud of what they have achieved over the past three decades in building up a successful company that’s played a key role in the business community in this part of the world.

“We are grateful to them for placing their trust in Harlech Foodservice to continue to look after their customers and to deliver for them in every sense of the word.

“In the meantime, we wish them both all the very best for their well-deserved retirement.”