Bernard Matthews gobbled up by Black Country chicken tycoon Boparan

The takeover was a private deal for Mr Boparan, who also owns the giant 2 Sisters Food Group which runs factories in West Bromwich, Wolverhampton and Smethwick.

It follows his acquisition of Tesco's Giraffe string of restaurants earlier this summer, which added to his Harry Ramsden fish and chip restaurants.

The Bernard Matthews deal is a pre-pack acquisition and follows months of talks with the Norfolk turkey group's owners, Rutland Partners.

Founded in 1950 by the ebullient businessman who gave the company its name - and its 'bootiful' slogan - Bernard Matthews has struggled in recent years as sales have slumped.

Mr Matthews died in 2010, aged 80. The company came close to collapse in 2013, when it was bought by Rutland, but turnaround plans have had little effect. Most recent accounts, for the year to the end June 2015, show a pre-tax loss of £5.2m.

Rutland put the business up for sale earlier this summer.

A spokesman for Mr Boparan's private office said "This acquisition will create a strong platform for future growth and ensures Bernard Matthews is well positioned to develop into a sustainable, growing business.

"We intend to respect and build on the 66-year heritage of a much-loved British brand and crucially help to deliver Christmas 2016, which would have been at risk without our intervention. We have a proven track record in turning around businesses and we aim to make Bernard Matthews great again.

"This deal is ultimately good news for UK consumers and our customers, who will benefit from a secure supply of British turkey from one of the most recognisable brands in the UK."

Union bosses say the deal looks like saving the firm's 2,000 workers but, as an administration, it will mean the Bernard Matthews pension fund passes to the Government's 'lifeboat', the Pension Protection Fund.

Mr Boparan, who turned 50 last month, is a former Bilston butcher's assistant who has built up 2 Sisters with his wife since founding the business in West Bromwich in 1993.

In recent years it has acquired Goodfella's pizza and Fox's biscuits through its £341m takeover of Northern Foods and grown to become a £3 billion food group employing 23,000 people in the UK, the Netherlands and Poland.

It supplies chicken to KFC and most of the UK's supermarket chains including Tesco, Lidl and Sainsbury.