Burgess bros web 2

William, Andrew and Jason Burgess

The Burgess family has taken full ownership of Produce World after buying out all the minority shareholders in the company.

For a number of years, the family has held a majority of the shares, but a significant minority were held by other shareholders who received shares as a result of mergers and acquisition by the group. The holding company Produce World Investments is now completely owned by the Burgess family.

It comes following a busy period for the company after it completed the sale of its redundant site at Swinderby, which will be used to build 120 homes. It also restructured the business into two divisions - RB Organics and Burgess Farm Produce, which grows for the conventional sector.

Chairman and chief executive William Burgess explained: “We have been looking for a way to reward our minority shareholders for some time, and we believe the time is right. Produce World was founded as a family business and going forward that is the way we want it to be. Jason, Andrew and I are now fully involved in the day-to-day running of the business and we are currently working on plans to bring the next generation into the company.

“From our point of view, we are more confident than ever about the future of Produce World. We are a business that grows and packs organic and conventional potatoes and vegetables, with farming at the heart of everything we do. The business has gone back to its roots.”