Two frozen food suppliers will work closely with one another following a senior appointment.

Frozen fruit and vegetable business Ardo UK and Rosemary and Thyme, who are the country’s main provider of herbs and ingredients, will now be managed by Stephen Waugh, the regional managing director for UK and Denmark.

Ardo, who operate out of Charing, will work closely with the Suffolk-based company – the two have a combined turnover of over £82 million.

Stephen Waugh said: “This is a very positive step for the UK teams as it will allow both Ashford and Eye to work closely together in order to maximise our presence in the market.

“Each company has been very successful bringing quality products to specific markets. We want to ensure we will identify and implement new product categories and channels within the UK, through exploring the synergies between the two companies.”

The merger is being rolled out in stages, beginning with the Food Ingredients sector, which is headed by Rosemary and Thyme’s managing director Paul Farrow.

Paul said: “This is an exciting time for both companies, enabling us to deliver a superior service to all our combined customers as well as bringing added value to our shareholders.”