Posh crisp maker Tyrells promises hundreds of new jobs following £300m takeover

The managing director of upmarket crisp firm Tyrells has said hundreds of new jobs will be created by the company.

The Herefordshire-based crisp and snack manufacturer was bought by US firm Amplify for £300m in August 2016.

Now managing director Mike Hedges says its plans involve recruiting hundreds of new staff globally.

"We have been working on this deal for about six months, and there were several interested parties," Hedges told the Shropshire Star.

"We chose Amplify because they were the best fit for the business.

"We are a global business with no reach inside North America, they are an American business with no infrastructure outside North America. The synergies couldn't be better.

"When we looked at all our options it was by far our preferred choice.

"They don't have any manufacturing capability at the moment, but their sales and marketing team in the USA is second to none."

"They're going to take the Tyrrells brand and roll it out in North America and we'll take their SkinnyPop brand, and others, and do the same in the UK.

"We'll have to take on more staff to do that and I'd say that, over the next three years, we'll recruit hundreds globally."

The company was founded in 2002 by potato farmer William Chase, who sold the business to Langholm Capital in 2008 for £40m. He has subsequently moved into producing premium gin and vodka using potatoes.

In 2013, Tyrells was sold to Bahrain-based private equity firm Investcorp for £100m.

Hedges was bullish about the snack makers prospects in the Brexit-facing climate of 2017.

"In 2008, during the last recession, none of the premium crisp brands suffered," he told the BBC. "I don't think they will this time either – if there is a downturn."