Wynnstay Group acquires Woodheads Seeds in £3m deal

Agricultural and retail group Wynnstay has bought Yorkshire seed processing and supply business Woodheads Seeds in a deal worth more than £3m.

Woodheads Seeds of Selby has been trading for more than 200 years and produces certified cereal and grass seed. According to Jonathan Woodhead, who continues as managing director as the company becomes integrated into the Wynnstay Group, the deal will still mean business as usual for Woodheads’ suppliers and farmers.

The Wynnstay Group of Llansantffraid, Wales, supplies products to both livestock and arable farms and has more than 44 outlets across the West Midlands, Wales and north-west England, including grain merchant Shropshire Grain.

This move adds a key farming region to Wynnstay’s trading area and significantly increases Wynnstay’s seed processing capability, more than doubling the group’s existing seed volumes.

Chief executive Ken Greetham said: “Woodheads has established a strong reputation within its Yorkshire trading region for its producers and service standards. I am delighted to have agreed its acquisition.”

More than 50% of Wynnstay’s shareholders are local farmers, the remainder being outside investors and staff.