A FISHING business in Cornwall has been bought by a company based in the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic.

The Ocean Fish Group has been acquired by Fortuna, which operates in the fishing and marine services sectors and is taking its first steps into the UK fishing industry.

Ocean Fish, which has a base at the Victoria Business Park at Roche, is Cornwall’s oldest fishing and processing import-export business, supplying UK and European retail, wholesale and food service customers.

The business, which was previously majority owned by the Lakeman family who have been fishing in Cornwall for generations, in recent years bought W Stevenson and Sons in Newlyn and launched a joint foodservice venture with Chapman’s of Sevenoaks in Kent.

Ocean Fish is a significant quota holder and vessel owner and undertakes the management of the Newlyn fish market. It has two processing sites in Cornwall and its foodservice division supplies high-end restaurants and other businesses in the South East.

Leigh Genge, who will continue as the chief executive for the operation in the UK, said: “This new partnership is the joining of two like-minded businesses with strong cultural and commercial alignment.

“The access to wider group support as we set about delivering turnover of £100-million by 2030 was a compelling factor for me in this consolidation. Our unique and vertically integrated supply chain just became much stronger with access to new global markets, product synergies and a new species into the UK.

“I would like to thank James Wallace, the Fortuna group managing director, and the wider Fortuna board who believed in and share my ambitions for the group. I would also like to thank Andrew and Edward Lakeman for their unwavering support and friendship over the past few decades. I think we can all be exceptionally proud of the success we have achieved with Ocean Fish, and I know that the Lakeman family heritage is in safe hands.”

Fortuna managing director James Wallace said: “This is a significant acquisition for Fortuna which builds on our strengths as a company, helps further diversify our business and provides exciting opportunities to realise synergies between the two companies. Ocean Fish Group is unique in its vertical integration, and we are very excited to be involved in the future of the company and help to deliver its impressive plan for growth. I am delighted to welcome them into the Fortuna group and to build on the legacy of the Lakeman family.”

The Fortuna group also provides coastal shipping services, retail outlets, a fish processing plant and a property portfolio in the Falkland Islands, as well as investing in potential future industries.

In 2024, Fortuna acquired Holyhead Towing in Anglesey, operating a fleet of 15 vessels used in support of energy, marine civil engineering, dredging and renewable energy projects around the world. Meanwhile, this year Fortuna secured rights to fish for lobster in the Tristan da Cunha archipelago in the South Atlantic from 2027 and will also be providing cargo and passenger services to the island.