Bright Blue Foods to acquire UK cakes and desserts business of Greencore

Food acquisition news : Bright Blue Foods (BBF), a British ambient cake manufacturer has signed a deal to acquire the UK cakes and desserts business of Irish food company Greencore Group for an undisclosed price.

The deal, which includes the sale of Greencore Group’s cakes and desserts business in Hull, marks its exit from the UK cakes and desserts sector. Prior to this, the Irish food company had announced the closure of its Evercreech desserts manufacturing plant.

Following the completion of the sale, the Greencore’s Hull cakes and desserts facility will do business under the name of BBF (Hull).

Bright Blue Foods says that its enlarged business following the completion of the transaction will have a turnover of more than £140 million an year while employing over 2,000 employees in five facilities in the UK and Poland.

The British ambient cake manufacturer is owned by private equity investor Endless, which acquired it in 2015.

A Greencore Group building. Photo courtesy of Greencore Group plc.

Commenting on Bright Blue Foods’ latest acquisition, Jonathan Lill, its CEO said: “This is a really exciting time for our company, our people and our customers. The product range and customer base from both businesses are very complementary.

“BBF is entirely focused on the bakery sector and this acquisition will be transformational for our business. We are committed to continue to invest in the category and deliver great quality, service and innovation to our customers.”

Jonathan Lill will stay on as the CEO of the enlarged business with the backing of the board of directors of Bright Blue Foods.

The acquisition of the Hull cakes and desserts facility by Bright Blue Foods is expected to be completed next month after a TUPE consultation process with the Greencore employees in the location.

Richard Harrison – investment director of Endless, said: Endless investment director Richard Harrison said: “This acquisition will double the size of BBF and will enable the business to maximise opportunities in this category through its enhanced product offering and scale.

“We are delighted to support BBF with this deal, which once again showcases our expertise in acquiring non-core assets from large corporates and is a great way to start 2018.”

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