About The Compleat Food Group (TCFG)
TCFG was created in early 2021 through the merger of Addo Food Group, a leading UK supplier of value-added chilled savoury pastry products, and Winterbotham Darby, the UK’s leading player in premium, value-added continental meats, olives and antipasti (Mediterranean Deli) and plant-based meat. TCFG has continued to grow both organically and through M&A, with the acquisitions of the premium chilled and frozen savoury pastry manufacturer, Wrights Food Group (December 2021), Vale of Mowbray production assets (March 2023), plant-based cheese manufacturer Palace Culture (October 2023), chilled food manufacturers SK Foods and Zorba Delicacies (February 2024), Harvey and Brockless (September 2024), a premium food service supplier, and most recently The Real Yorkshire Pudding Company (March 2025).
Today, TCFG is the UK’s leading chilled food platform, and serves all the major UK grocery retailers, alongside a growing foodservice business. TCFG operates 15 manufacturing facilities across the UK and manages a broad range of outsourced suppliers across Europe, delivering Food to Feel Good. TCFG is backed by PAI Partners, a leading pan-European private equity firm.
The opportunity
Prompted by the appointment of a new CFO, TCFG embarked on a fresh approach to R&D tax relief claims in 2024. ForrestBrown was appointed following a highly competitive tender including the Big Four and other specialist advisers.
Recent acquisitions, multiple sites and sub-contractors made for a complex engagement encompassing 70 projects across six subsidiary companies. TCFG wanted to identify as much qualifying R&D as possible while limiting tax risk. ForrestBrown’s transparent approach and ability to build rapport and communicate in plain English with TCFG’s technical team, made for a good cultural fit.
Client reflections
“ForrestBrown has proved to be a great appointment for us. We’re very happy with what they’ve delivered, effectively balancing our desire for a low risk approach to tax without losing out on the value of the qualifying R&D we carry out.
“Feedback from our technical teams is very positive, citing ForrestBrown’s proactive approach and knowledge-sharing with
stakeholders across the business.
“Not only have ForrestBrown increased the value of our benefit, but they’ve also added welcome rigour to our claim methodology. With ForrestBrown’s help we’re moving to a contemporaneous approach which will put us on the front foot, enabling us to continue to invest in R&D with confidence.”
Tom Riley, Chief Finance Officer