A Midlands poultry processor is gearing up to sell direct to the public after purchasing the freehold of one of its three poultry processing plants in Four Ashes Cannock.

ANA Poultry paid an undisclosed sum to secure the deal which was advised on by law firm Clark Brookes Turner Cary (CBTC), with offices in West Bromwich and Stratford-upon-Avon.

The food services company, which also has a factory in Wednesbury and two sister plants at Four Ashes, carries out poultry cutting and packaging, selling to wholesalers and retailers across the UK and has recently won a contract to supply the Armed Forces abroad with individually frozen portions of chicken which go as far afield as the Falkland Islands.

Owner and managing director Martin Finn said: “This is good news for the local economy and also for the 80 staff who are all local employees, some of whom have been with the organisation for over 20 years.

“The freehold purchase came about because we wanted to lay the foundations for expansion, seeking to take the business to the next stage.

The next step is to launch a website later this Spring so as to go directly to the end user across the UK from families to fitness fanatics looking for quality and value. I know that the freshness and quality of British Red Tractor chicken products cannot be matched.

We are already in the final stages of contract negotiations with a local Warwickshire farmer who specialises in his own award winning fresh turkey products which will complement the range of fresh quality poultry products we will be able to offer our end customers.

Our product development team are already testing and finalising a range of marinated poultry products especially aimed at the summer barbeque market which is targeted to launch in early May and which we are very excited about.”

He commented that one of the main problems large organisations face is the freshness of their products and the majority of these online websites often sell cheap European chicken.

“Once someone has tasted our British products, tasted the freshness and observed that little or no moisture comes out in the cooking process then I am confident they will order more from us and spread the word to their friends and families throughout the UK,” he said

We have a two year strategy to become the biggest online British poultry retailer in the UK by selling fresh quality chicken and turkey online to the general public.

There is a massive market opportunity out there and I know that the quality and freshness of our products will ensure that our online venture will succeed.”

Mr Finn is the second generation in the trade – his father Michael, aged 90 and still doing a bit for the group, started it all off in 1963 with a butchers shop in Great Barr.

 “ANA already produces and supplies fresh and frozen poultry products to some of the biggest names in the UK food industry,” added Mr Finn.

Our products cover all manner of poultry products and already find their way to the dinner plates of thousands of customers each week.

By offering these products directly to the end user we can ensure that the products delivered have not been sitting in warehouses or on supermarket shelves and cannot be supplied from a fresher source.

As well as the national home delivery option we are also planning to offer the ability to collect your order from delivery points throughout the midlands area.

We have already secured a deal with several gyms and sports clubs who will allow the collection of product from refrigerated storage at a prearranged time to suit the customers’ busy lifestyles which prevent them sitting at home ‘waiting on a delivery’.

Our visionary concept is for the customer to collect their fresh products as they are walking out of the gym after a hard session.”

A business re-structuring last year saw a strengthening of the management team as the company further geared itself up for growth.

Richard Pinning, CBTC managing partner, who worked on securing the freehold purchase, said: “Following the re-structuring, where we advised on the purchase of assets, this latest move has put ANA Poultry on a secure footing to move forward in the future.

“The management has clear ideas on where they want to take the business and how they intend to build it. Hopefully we can further support their ambitions as they continue to develop.”