Eye-based seed specialist Grainseed Ltd has become a wholly-owned subsidiary of international grain merchants Nidera UK Ltd.

Nidera UK chief executive Mark Dordery said the deal, finalised on Monday, would create opportunities for both firms and their customers.

Nidera, which is based in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, has its UK headquarters at Ipswich docks.

“Our relationship with Grainseed stretches back more than 20 years and whilst Nidera’s main focus has been on the retailing of cereal seed, Grainseed’s specialism has been in maize, oilseed rape and herbage seeds,” he said.

“The agreement therefore represents an excellent strategic fit for both companies and allows us together to develop a strong product portfolio, expand our technical base and extend our geographic reach.”

Grainseed will keep its respected trading name, successful management team and brand names including Horizon Seeds, so customers will experience little change in day-to-day dealings with the company, Mark Dordery said.

“Short-term, it will be business as usual, but longer-term it is our intention to explore how we may work together in developing and investing in both businesses to deliver more to our collective customers in the future.

“The board of Nidera UK is delighted to have reached this agreement and looks forward to working with Grainseed to fulfil our joint objectives in the future.”

Grainseed chief executive Kevin Jordan says his team has ambitious plans for developing the business.

“We have enjoyed steady growth over many years and have successfully entered new sectors of the seed market, launched many top tier varieties and built a reputation for industry-leading technical knowledge and customer service.

“We believe strongly that the next stage of our development is to work as part of a larger business with all the additional human and financial resources that brings with it.”

Mr Dordery predicted the deal would enable Grainseed to expand.

“We are truly excited about the new era of Grainseed expansion this relationship offers and are confident it will allow us to stay at the leading edge of seed development and supply at a time when crop production is changing rapidly and growers are looking for so much more from their inputs.”

Nidera UK has offices in Ipswich and York and also operates the Ipswich Grain Terminal. It is one of the UK’s leading grain exporters as well as supplying fertiliser and seeds.

Worldwide, it is active in 22 countries and employs nearly 4000 people supplying cereals, oilseeds and protein to the food, feed and bio-energy industries.

Grainseed is one of the UK’s most respected seed suppliers with an industry-leading reputation for innovation, technical expertise and top varieties.

Originally focused on maize and forage seeds, where it still has highly successful varieties including the current descriptive list top yielder Hobbit, Grainseed successfully entered the oilseed rape sector introducing many well know varieties such as Astrid and Alienor in recent years.