A 700-strong company which bakes cakes and mince pies for Tesco, Asda and Morrisons has been bought by Endless in the Leeds-headquartered private equity firm’s tenth investment of 2015.
The firm has acquired Bright Blue Foods, an operator of two bakeries in Blackburn plus sites in Bradford and Poland.
Bright Blue manufactures a wide range of bakery products including mince pies, celebration cakes, swiss rolls and cake bars. It is one of the largest makers of mince pies and Christmas cake in the UK.
Di Walker, who works with Endless at Karro Food Group, has joined the board as non-executive director. Meanwhile, Steve Crossley, who joined Bright Blue in October 2014, will continue to lead the business as chief executive.
NBGI will also continue to back Bright Blue as a co-investor alongside Endless, having led an original management buyout from McCambridge Group nearly three years ago.
Crossley said: “We have a strong, well invested business with real competitive advantages and we are delighted that Endless is keen to back our growth plan.”
In December 2014, Endless announced it had raised a new fund of £525m to invest in buyouts, non-core acquisitions from larger groups and refinancings.
Endless has invested more than £150m in UK businesses in the year to date, including backing for the management buyouts of High Street TV, Essential Fleet Services and Imtech UK.
Mathew Deering, partner at Endless, added: “We are delighted to have the chance to back Bright Blue and support Steve and the team’s ambitions to take a long established North West business forward.
“We are also delighted to welcome Di Walker to the Board to complement the existing team. Bright Blue has a high quality reputation for its product quality and range of capabilities and we are excited about the plans to enhance this further.”
The Endless deal team was led by Mathew Deering, Richard Harrison and Adam Keasey. Endless was advised by Addleshaw Goddard (Andrew Smith, Richard Chere and Tim Taylor).
Bright Blue Foods and its management team were advised by Squire Patton Boggs and Pinsent Masons respectively.
Source: Insider Media
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