Local food distribution service Tastes Of Anglia (TOA) Trading has been sold to Elveden Farms Ltd, which is owned by Guinness heir Lord Iveagh.

Tastes of Anglia’s membership-funded regional food group, set up to promote East Anglian food, will become a separate enterprise and its operation is not affected by the change to (TOA) trading.

Elveden, which is part of Lord Iveagh’s estate near Thetford, already operates a successful local food distribution service known as Elveden Food Hub, a growing business which supplies two multiple retailers and smaller customers throughout East Anglia.

The acquisition means it will be able provide a more comprehensive service for its supermarket and independent retailer customers throughout the region, it says.

“Joining these two businesses will enable us to deliver a much more efficient and cost effective sales and distribution solution across East Anglia, while allowing the Tastes of Anglia food group to focus on promoting the region’s excellent food offering throughout the UK,“ said Natasha Card, manager of Elveden Food Hub.

“For retailers in the region, this opens up a wealth of opportunities to understand the full range of local food on offer and simplifies supply, while for local food producers they will have access to an improved distribution network and a wider range of retailers from just one hub.”

Elveden Food Hub is part of Elveden Farms Ltd, which is made up of a number of enterprises based at the Elveden Estate on the Suffolk-Norfolk border. Other key enterprises include farming, food retail and hospitality at the Elveden Courtyard and Elveden Inn, forestry, hedges and nationally important conservation.