Around 1,300 jobs have been safeguarded at a Nottingham chilled goods distributor after the firm was bought out of administration by haulage giant Stobart Group.

Stobart - the owner of the famous haulier Eddie Stobart - has taken on Innovate Logistics' chilled operation from administrators BDO Stoy Hayward.

The deal - for an undisclosed sum - is set to boost Stobart's workforce to more than 5,300 people, giving it an enlarged fleet of more than 1,800 trucks and 3,200 trailers.

Andrew Tinkler, chief executive of Stobart, said: "We are committed to safeguarding the jobs of 1,300 people who may otherwise have been unemployed and we look forward to welcoming them to the group."

He added the move was a "low risk" way of expanding Stobart's presence in the chilled market.