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Australian order management platform Fresho has expanded its presence in the UK through the acquisition of Nation Wilcox, a major provider of enterprise resource planning software to food suppliers across Britain.
The deal positions Fresho as the market-leading technology platform for food wholesalers in the UK, with a combined customer base of more than 400 businesses and over £2 billion ($3.8 million) in annual gross merchandise value across the country.
The acquisition, which follows a $17 million Series B funding round by Fresho at the end of 2024, is part of a broader plan by the Melbourne-based company to accelerate the development of its AI capabilities and drive continued product innovation across its markets.
Founded by James Andronis and Huw Birrell in 2015, Fresho has grown from an Australian startup into a global platform supporting fresh food distributors across Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, the UK, Ireland and the United States.
Fresho's platform brings together ordering, picking, invoicing and payments into a single system, using AI to automate order capture and reduce manual administration for wholesalers and food service caterers.
The company says the Nation Wilcox acquisition marks a major milestone in its international expansion.
Nation Wilcox will continue to operate as a standalone entity under its existing brand, with no changes to customer contracts, support arrangements or day-to-day operations.
Founded in Birmingham in 1978 by Neil Nation, Nation Wilcox has built a 48-year track record serving primary and secondary wholesalers as well as cash and carry businesses across the UK through its platform.
Fresho says the business has developed deep expertise across order management, stock control, logistics and accounting, and more recently online ordering, AI and mobile apps.
The acquisition is aimed at accelerating Fresho’s strategy to modernise an industry it says has historically been underserved by technology, bringing “much-needed consolidation to a fragmented market”.
Nation Wilcox's established presence among large primary wholesalers also extends Fresho's reach beyond its existing base of food service distributors.
Andrew Nation, who has led the business since 2004, will join Fresho's board as a significant shareholder and play a key role in shaping the company's next phase of growth.
"Nation Wilcox has been at the heart of UK food wholesale for more than four decades, and finding the right partner for the next chapter of the business was a carefully considered decision,” says Nation, the managing director of Nation Wilcox.
“Fresho's ambitions are the right fit for Nation Wilcox, and together the companies will be able to grow beyond the UK and become the premier supplier of IT systems to the food service industry worldwide.
“For our customers, this means access to the combined expertise of both organisations, with the continuity of the team they already know and trust."
The acquisition agreement was signed at the Australian High Commission in London, with Austrade supporting the milestone moment.
"Acquiring this prestigious company establishes us as the leading technology platform for food service in the UK, and combining their decades of experience with our own will help us better serve the market,” says Jamie Foale, general manager of UK and Ireland at Fresho.
“We look forward to working with Andrew to continue the success of Nation Wilcox and ensure that their customers feel as supported and confident in the continued investment in the software as ever."
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