A. Duda & Sons and G’s Group Announce Joint Venture Acquisition of Tozer Seeds Ltd
Duda & Sons and G’s Group announce the joint venture acquisition of Tozer Seeds Ltd, one of the UK’s most respected independent vegetable seed companies.
Law firm Thomson Snell & Passmore advised A. Duda & Sons and Mishcon de Reya advised G’s Group on the cross border joint venture acquisition. A. Duda & Sons, a fifth-generation family-owned-and-operated company headquartered in Oviedo, Florida, with diversified operations in agriculture and real estate, celebrates its 100th anniversary this year.
Founded in West London in 1944 by Arthur Tozer and owned by the Dawson family since 1950, Tozer Seeds has earned a global reputation for innovation in vegetable breeding and the production of premium-quality seed crops. Over the past 80 years, Tozer has introduced industry-first breakthroughs, including the world’s first commercial F1 hybrid parsnip and celery varieties.
Under the new ownership, Tozer Seeds will continue to operate as an independent seed business, retaining its name, leadership team, and long-standing commitment to excellence. The company will remain focused on breeding, multiplication, and global sales of specialty horticultural crops such as celery, parsnip, kale, coriander, rocket, squash, legumes, and leeks.
This acquisition builds on a decade-long partnership between A. Duda & Sons and G’s Group, during which G’s has enjoyed exclusive access to Duda Generations proprietary celery genetics and seed varieties in Europe. G’s has collaborated with Tozer for more than 30 years across its growing regions. By combining Tozer’s global breeding strategy with Duda’s advanced celery genetics program, this joint venture creates a powerful platform for future innovation—benefiting growers and customers worldwide.
The transaction includes Tozer’s operations in the UK, Spain, the Netherlands, and the United States.
Steven J Winterbottom, Managing Director, Tozer Seeds comments: “The executive team of Tozer Seeds and the Dawson family are delighted to see the continuation of the Tozer name and legacy after stewarding it for over 75 years. By joining forces with Duda and G’s, we anticipate the business evolving into an even more exciting and dynamic future.”
Guy W Shropshire, CEO, G’s Group adds: “We have long admired Tozer’s diversity of genetics across its crop portfolio. Through this acquisition we have enabled the bringing together of Tozer and Duda’s world-leading celery genetics. This new venture provides deeper vertical integration, giving us greater engagement in the science of breeding and seed production, and we look forward to welcoming our new Tozer and Duda colleagues into the broader G’s Group.”
Sammy Duda, CEO/President, A Duda & Sons concludes: “With over 200 years of celery breeding research and development—including our proprietary Duda Generations varieties, grown by Duda Farm Fresh Foods—we’ve built an unmatched foundation of innovation. By combining Duda’s celery genetics with Tozer’s global breeding portfolio, we’re positioned to accelerate the next generation of celery products that elevate flavor, quality, and category growth. This partnership marks a significant milestone for the industry, and we look forward to working with Tozer and G’s to expand opportunities for growers and customers worldwide.”
Joanne Gallagher, Corporate M&A partner at Thomson Snell & Passmore led the legal team for A. Duda & Sons, and was supported by Dan Gorringe, Jack Pavey and Rachel Macmillan in the Corporate team. Adam Bradley, Corporate M&A Partner at Mishcon de Reya led the legal team on the transaction for G’s Group, supported by Christia Malaktou and Ege Sever in the Corporate team.