A Chester-headquartered distribution giant has been snapped up by food and drink logistics specialist Culina in a deal which creates a group with an overall turnover of more than £400m and a workforce of approximately 5,000 staff.

Great Bear Distribution, headquartered in Tattenhall, is to be taken over by Market Drayton-based Culina Group. Culina counts the likes of Jägermeister, Alpro and Tyrrells as customers.

The combined group will have an estimated turnover of £400m, a 5,000-strong workforce and almost 7.5 million sq ft of warehouse space.

Glenn Linfield, chief executive of Great Bear, said: "The retention of the Great Bear brand name is testimony to the hard work of our people over the past twenty one years.

"The Great Bear board believes this move makes strong commercial sense. The combining of our two businesses will create major opportunities for significantly growing our market share."

Thomas van Mourik, chief executive of Culina Group, added: "Great Bear and Culina are absolutely complementary businesses, two strong organisations with great reputations, two like-minded companies with similar cultures. This is an excellent fit which is going to be fantastic for staff and for clients."

The deal will extend Culina's reach to 50 locations across the UK.

In March 2015, Culina was confirmed as the first major tenant at Peel Ports Group's National Import Centre at Port Salford. The group agreed to occupy the first warehouse unit comprising 280,000 sq ft of accommodation.

Culina is expected to finalise the details of the acquisition in the coming weeks.