Northern Foods will use a new plant in Longford to expand its Green Isle operation to include a new range of frozen bread products.

The company is paying €11.5 million (£9.2 million) and taking over €8.6 million of debt to buy Lacemont, a private company that has recently completed an advanced food plant in Longford that is expected to begin production in the first half of this year. Lacemont's net assets total €9 million, reflecting the scale of the investment in the Longford plant.

The statement from Northern Foods does not disclose the beneficial owners of Lacemont and Companies Office files also do not disclose the owners. It is understood, however, that one of the major shareholders is Mr Neil McHugh, who sold Green Isle to Northern Foods in a number of tranches during the 1990s for over £50 million.

Mr McHugh could not be contacted for comment. A spokesperson for Northern Foods would only say that Lacemont is owned by its management team and private shareholders.

This latest expansion of its food manufacturing operations in Ireland, which will create about 150 jobs over the next five years, follows Northern Food's decision last year to get out of food distribution in Ireland with the sale of Green Isle's distribution business and Pierre's to IAWS for €25.8 million. Through Green Isle and its Goodfellas brand, Northern Foods is a major player in the British frozen pizza market, currently worth £400 million per annum. Green Isle also manufactures other frozen food products including savoury pancakes and the Donegal Catch range of fish products.