Crown Chicken bought by pork producer Cranswick for £40m

Cranswick's purchase of East Anglian poultry producer, with 83.8m revenues, follows acquisition of Benson Park in 2014

The family behind East Anglian poultry business Crown Chicken is set for a multimillion-pound windfall after it was sold to UK pork producer Cranswick in a 40m deal.

Crown Chicken was set up in 1951 and is currently chaired by David Thacker - son of the founder, Fred Thacker - who owns a majority of the shares. Thacker will step down once the deal is completed, but his fellow directors Nigel Armes and Matthew Ward, who own stakes in the business, will stay on.