Charoen Pokphand Foods has bought a majority stake in UK foodservice supplier Foodfellas.The deal, worth GBP12.3m (US$15.1m), has been struck through the company's CP Foods UK arm. Charoen Pokphand Foods has acquired a 60% stake in Foodfellas, a business that imports and distributes food including meat, bread, potatoes and avocados to more than 160 customers in the UK.

Charoen Pokphand Foods said the acquisition of a majority stake in Foodfellas will see the Thai business enter the foodservice market in the UK. Foodfellas has "extensive experience" in the UK foodservice market, with its "major customers" branded operators in the country with a combined total of restaurants of more than 15,000 branches.

Foodfellas generated revenues of GBP47m in 2015, up from GBP39m a year earlier, according to data provided by Charoen Pokphand Foods. The UK firm posted net profit of GBP2.5m last year, up from GBP1.9m in 2014.