Private equity firm buys Tyrrells Potato Chips

The new owner of Tyrrells Potato Chips has pledged to invest in its production site near Leominster, Herefordshire, to put it in a better position to supply the leading supermarkets.The upmarket snack firm, which generated sales of £13M in the year to March 2008, has been sold to private equity firm Langholm Capital in a deal valuing it at almost £40M.

Will Chase, the potato farmer who founded the firm, has retained a substantial stake, and now plans to use the proceeds to develop his new vodka business, which uses potatoes that are too small for crisp production.

Tyrrells will continue to be run by current md Les Sayers, who has experience of working with top brands including Walkers and Golden Wonder.

Langholm said there was “significant potential” to grow sales through “increasing UK distribution in the near term”. This would be achieved in part through trying to strike deals with supermarkets like Tesco, with whom Tyrrells has had a troubled relationship in the past.

One source close to the company said. “They are in Waitrose, some Sainsbury stores and the Co-op Group, but things with Tesco got off to a bad start. First Will said he didn’t want to supply them, partly because Tyrrells didn’t have the capacity to service them, and then Tesco bought his crisps anyway, buying them indirectly from a wholesaler.”

BDO Stoy Hayward, which advised Chase on the deal, said: “This is the next stage in the business’s development and Langholm is a great partner for the business in accelerating growth, distribution and brand awareness.”

Tyrrells was the first gourmet crisp company to launch parsnip, carrot and beetroot crisps into the UK. It has also pioneered flavours such as Asparagus and Crushed Black Pepper and Ludlow sausage with Wholegrain Mustard.

The market for premium crisps now accounts for about 15% of the £1.3bn crisps market.