Radnor Hills’ acquisition of Welsh production site key to expansion opportunities
From left William Watkins MD of Radnor Hills and Simon Oldham MD of Highland Spring Group.
Soft drinks maker Radnor Hills has acquired Highland Spring Group’s Welsh production site.
The deal, completed last week, will support the ongoing strategic growth of the Radnor Hills business in addition to protecting jobs at the site located in Blaen Twyni, Swansea.
The acquisition also includes a 40-acre water source in the heart of Bannau Brycheiniog National Park.
The site has serviced major supermarkets in the UK with still, sparkling and flavoured natural source water drinks for several years.
Established in 1990, independent and family-owned, Radnor Hills has a turnover of £64.4 million and produces over 400 million drinks every year.
Its brands include a full range of Radnor Hills spring water, Heartsease Farm, Radnor Splash, and a market-leading range of school-approved children’s drinks, Radnor Fizz.
A key business priority for Radnor Hills has been to find an expansion opportunity in Wales that mirrors its other manufacturing base in Knighton, Powys.
William Watkins, founder and managing director of Radnor Hills, said the deal represents an important milestone in the growth of the company and will allow it to keep pace with growing consumer demand.
“The Blaen Twyni site presented us with the ideal opportunity to expand our capacity with a plentiful source of pure natural Welsh spring water, which complements the supply of pure water we already have at our source in Heartsease,” Watkins said.
“We’re excited to welcome the highly skilled and dedicated workforce from Blaen Twyni to our Radnor family. The opportunity for us to continue to safeguard jobs in Wales and to offer further employment opportunities to the local area in the fullness of time is extremely important to us.
“We are grateful to Highland Spring Group for this opportunity and for the professional and helpful approach of their team, which has made the transition as smooth as possible.”
Simon Oldham, managing director of Highland Spring Group, said: “We’re pleased to have agreed this deal with Radnor, and I would like to personally thank every single member of the site’s operations team for their professionalism and support during this transition. We wish them and the team at Radnor the very best for the future.
“Our business is focused on driving the growth of Highland Spring as the UK’s No.1 plain bottled water brand, which forms part of our long-term strategy to continue to invest in and develop high-quality, sustainable products which provide healthy hydration in an environmentally sustainable way.”
