Compost firm buys customer (From Salisbury Journal)

Compost firm buys customer

8:17am Sunday 11th June 2006 in

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A HAMPSHIRE business has snapped up one of its customers, in an "I liked it so much, I bought the company" moment.

Tunnel Tech, whose headquarters are near Stockbridge, produces and sells more than 1,500 tons of mushroom compost each week, from its sites in Hampshire and Yorkshire.

When one of its customers decided to sell up, Tunnel Tech bought it, acquiring one of the UK's leading mushroom-growing companies and combining the two businesses under the new name of the Premier Mushroom Company.

Damian Carter, senior relationship manager at Lloyds TSB Corporate, which funded the purchase, believes Tunnel Tech recognised as a leading producer of specialised compost for commercial mushroom-growing will make a similar mark in the organic mushroom field.

Tunnel Tech's managing director, Martyn Dewhurst, has long-term plans for the new business.

"Currently, we are running our two acquisitions at their separate sites while we construct a new state-of-the-art facility in Nottinghamshire," he said. "This is costing around £1.5m and will be ready in about 18 months."