WELL-known non-packer lamb and beef exporter Mulwarra Export has expanded its footprint, completing the purchase of the Melbourne-based Prestige Foods International business in Australia and 100pc of the shares in Prestige Food New Zealand Ltd.

The agreement, completed on 29 July, does not include the separate Prestige Food Australia value-adding business, specialising in producing stocks and soups.

Both Sydney-based Mulwarra, established in 1997, and PFI, established in 1990, specialise in the export of high-quality Australian and New Zealand meat, seafood, and other perishable food products to global markets.

Mulwarra operates in 35 countries and has import distribution businesses in the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam, operating under the Food Source International brand.

The company has developed a range of popular lamb and beef brands including Mulwarra Premium Lamb, Marrunga Marble and Yarramundi lamb, Black Angus, 100-120 day grainfed, longfed Wagyu and grassfed beef products.

Newly acquired Prestige Foods International is known for its expertise in consolidating and exporting bespoke shipments to international resort markets, especially regions like the Indian Ocean islands of the Maldives.

The company lists some of Australia’s best known brands within its export product catalogue, including Roaring Forties lamb and a range of Wagyu and other beef products.

Mulwarra managing director Greg Darwell said the acquisition of PFI enhanced Mulwarra’s market reach and strengthened its capabilities in consolidating supplies for the world’s expanding high-end resort markets, using cold store facilities at Tullamarine.

PFI managing director Mike Murray expressed his support for the sale, expressing confidence in Mulwarra’s ability to uphold PFI’s legacy.

Mulwarra chief executive officer Damian Chown said the acquisition represented an exciting opportunity for the continued growth of the Mulwarra group and the preservation of the PFI business, built over 34 years.

“We have admired PFI from a distance and viewed it as a natural extension of our own operations,” Mr Chown said.

“We look forward to further serving international markets from Australia and New Zealand with the addition to the group of a direct export business in New Zealand.”

Robert Ameln, a long-standing manager within the Mulwarra group and the general manager of Food Source International in Vietnam since 2016, will relocate to Melbourne to assume the role of general manager for the newly acquired business. All existing staff of PFI have remained with the business.