STEF expands geographic coverage to the UK with acquisition of Langdon Group

October 26 2021 Print This Article

STEF and Nagel-Group signed an agreement regarding the acquisition of Langdon Group Ltd. by STEF.

Specialized in temperature-controlled transport nationwide, Langdon Group is also a vital player in imports and exports of chilled and frozen food between the UK and continental Europe. Its 1,400 employees and its eight sites provide excellent geographic coverage and enable it to deliver to 20,000 locations throughout Great Britain. The company handles close to 2.7m pallets a year on behalf of its 2,000 customers and recorded a £147m turnover in 2020.

This operation will allow Nagel-Group to constantly move forward with its drive to strengthen its network and resources for its European market activities while continuing to rely on a strong partner also in the UK. The transaction also marks an additional strategic milestone for STEF in building its European network created over 30 years ago.

Stanislas Lemor, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the STEF Group: “We are delighted with this deal, which represents a unique opportunity to expand our geographic coverage to an eighth country, the UK. The acquisition is a perfect fit for our strategy as a European pure player in the food supply chain. It will allow us to offer our customers - producers and distributors - a unique range of transport and logistics services throughout Western Europe while helping them grow their business outside the EU. We are keen to explore any synergy we can create together and look forward to welcoming these new employees to the STEF Group.”

Carsten Taucke, CEO of Nagel-Group: “Nagel Langdons team has done a great development and delivered high quality services since Nagel-Group has acquired the company in 2004. We are happy and proud that Nagel customers will have consistently excellent access to this distribution network in the future via the Nagel-Group network and a strong collaboration with STEF Group, which already supports transport flows between some Western and Southern European countries.”

Following this agreement, STEF Group and Nagel-Group will enter into distribution agreements to enable Nagel-Group to make use of the Langdon Group’s distribution network for its operations in the UK. They will also enable Langdon Group to offer its customers its usual distribution services to Germany and Central/Northern Europe, in addition to a new excellent coverage of Southern Europe via STEF’s network.

The transaction is due to be completed by the end of the year, subject to approval from regulatory authorities.