A NORTH Yorkshire ice cream company is in the process of buying the third largest manufacturer in France - and it expects more acquisitions will follow.

The bid to buy Rolland by R&R Ice Cream, of Leeming Bar, is currently being assessed by the French Competition Authority, which is normal practice.

The R&R group has an annual turnover of over 400 million euros and, if approved, the deal will increase that to more than half a billion euros. The acquisition will create the second largest ice cream group in supermarket sales in the UK, Germany and France more than 500 million litres of ice cream a year.

The family-owned Rolland business started in 1898 and has two factories - at Ploudern in Brittany and in the Poitou Charente region. The business has 520 employees and produces 65m litres of branded, private label and licensed ice cream products annually.

It is particularly strong in the supermarket sector largely selling own label products to Carrefour, Metro and Leclerc in France, and Tesco in the UK.

It also has a presence in the home delivery and food service markets. France accounts for approximately 75pc of sales, but Rolland also sells to nearly 20 countries worldwide, including Japan.

James Lambert, chief executive officer of R&R Ice Cream, said he was delighted the Rolland family had decided to sell their business to them as they shared many "values and strengths".

He said: "This acquisition marks an important stage in our strategy to grow our company on mainland Europe.

"The ice cream manufacturing sector continues to consolidate. This period of consolidation within the industry will also result in further growth opportunities and I fully expect to be announcing more acquisitions soon."

Lionel Rolland will join the R&R management board with responsibility for France.

He said: "The financial strength of the new group will enable us to maximise our assets and skills and ensure that our long-standing reputation for product innovation is enhanced.

"The European ice cream market is changing quickly and Rolland will be in an excellent position to exploit new opportunities to grow as part of R&R."

R&R Ice Cream was created in 2006 by Oaktree Capital Management merging Richmond Ice Cream with Roncadin following its £180m purchase of Richmond Foods plc.