Based in Staffordshire, Blakemans is a family-owned business that has been manufacturing specialist raw and cooked sausage and meat products for over 70 years.
With a workforce of 290, Blakemans holds a strong presence in the UK foodservice market. The company is recognized as the leading supplier of sausages to UK fish and chip shops, while also providing products to prepared meal manufacturers.
On May 16, 2025, Cranswick completed a complementary £32 million acquisition, enhancing its existing value-added gourmet business. This acquisition will increase production capacity for raw and cooked sausages and facilitate efficient supply chains in the foodservice market.
This acquisition follows Cranswick’s recent acquisition of JSR Genetics and comes amid challenges due to an undercover investigation revealing animal welfare violations at one of its Lincolnshire farms. This latter incident contributed to a 7% decline in share price earlier this month.
Despite these challenges, Cranswick’s preliminary results for the 52 weeks ending March 29, 2025, reflected total revenue of £2,723.3 million, marking a robust growth rate of 6.8%.
In an analysis of the acquisition, Mark Field, CEO of Prof Consulting Group, told Food Manufacture that it represents a “solid strategic move” for Cranswick. He emphasized that the addition of Blakemans will create a “natural product fit that should unlock efficiencies in both businesses from raw material supply, innovation resources, and distribution.”
Field further noted that this move will provide Cranswick with “access to heritage and craftsmanship that can strengthen the main retail business, bringing further innovation into the premium or gourmet sausage category” along with “additional capacity across raw and cooked with a strong customer base.”
“Well-established Blakeman’s clients are expected to benefit from the acquisition through access to some of Cranswick’s wider product portfolio, ultimately driving sales and growth opportunities,” Field concluded.
The acquisition occurs shortly after the passing of co-founder James (Jim) Blakeman.
Founded in 1953, Blakemans initiated sausage production just two years later when Jim met his wife, Ann. They purchased a farm in Caverswall, near Stoke-on-Trent, transforming cow sheds and stables into a small manufacturing unit for sausage and cooked meats, investing in automated machinery that increased production to over 3 tonnes per week.
Over the years, Jim and Ann expanded their company, notably propelled in the 1970s by the creation of the chip shop sausage.
As the millennium approached, Jim transitioned to the role of chairman, delegating daily operations to his children, Philip Blakeman and Susan Cope, now CEO and finance director, respectively.
Commenting on the acquisition, the siblings expressed enthusiasm about joining the Cranswick family, stating, “The two businesses complement each other in so many ways, and we look forward to working with the management at Cranswick to continue producing quality products for the foodservice sector.”
Cranswick’s CEO, Adam Couch, added, “I am delighted to announce the acquisition of Blakemans, a well-invested leading foodservice sausage manufacturer. Blakemans is highly complementary to our existing added-value Gourmet business. We look forward to welcoming the entire Blakemans team to Cranswick and to working with them to develop the business further.”
Oghma advised on this acquisition and has recently supported various other businesses, including Two Chicks (UK) in its majority sale to Eurovo Group (Italy), Paulig (Finland) in its acquisition of Panesar Foods (UK), and strategic advice to BGF (UK) regarding its £9m minority investment in Plant-Ex Ingredients (UK), along with Glendale Foods (UK) on its sale to the Shallan Group (UK).
