Nippon Suisan (Europe) B.V., a subsidiary of Tokyo, Japan-based seafood giant Nippon Suisan Kaisha Ltd. (Nissui), has acquired a 75 percent stake in U.K. processing firm Three Oceans Fish Company Ltd.
Confirming the deal in a press release, Nissui stated that Three Oceans Fish is a producer of top-quality coated fish products and has customers in both the retail and foodservice sectors in the U.K. market.
Nissui previously acquired Caistor Seafoods Ltd. in 2017 and Flatfish Ltd. in 2019, meaning the Three Oceans acquisitions will widen its holdings in the U.K. fish processing sector.
“Through this acquisition, Nissui will further strengthen coated fish business in the U.K. in conjunction with Caistor Seafoods and enhance synergies with Flatfish and (French seafood company) Cite Marine,” Nissui said.
Hull, U.K.-based Three Oceans Fish Company specializes in the manufacture of breaded, battered, skin-on, and skinless boneless fish fillets.
Nissui saw a decline in profits and sales for the fiscal year 2020, citing reduced global demand brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. The company reported a 4.9 percent drop in net sales, while its operating profit fell by 20.8 percent.
It expects to see recovery in the U.S. and European markets in 2021, due to COVID-19 vaccination efforts, but anticipates that the Japanese market will probably not normalize until 2022.
