BBF secures £40m of investment
The three-year facility, provided by Wells Fargo Capital Finance (WFCF), will provide day-to-day working capital for the business, as well as headroom to enable further capital investment into manufacturing capabilities.
Chief executive Jonathan Lill said: “The facility provided by Wells Fargo gives the business extra firepower to make further investment in all of our manufacturing sites and to deliver on our strategic growth plans.
“Wells demonstrated great appetite throughout the process to support the business and we’re excited to have secured this new funding facility.”
Financial advice
FRP Advisory in Manchester provided debt advisory advice to BBF and its owner, private equity investor Endless. Andy Pickford, director of debt advisory at FRP, added: “We are delighted to have been mandated by them to advise on this important financing.
“Pleasingly, there was significant interest from the finance community for this transaction, and the terms offered and underwritten by the team at Wells Fargo will now allow the management team at BBF to execute their exciting three-year plan.”
BBF supplies a number of supermarkets in the UK – including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Marks & Spencer, Aldi and Lidl – from its manufacturing facilities in Blackburn, Bradford and Poland.
Greencore desserts acquisition
Last year, the company acquired Greencore’s ambient cake and chilled desserts division, headquartered in Hull. As a result of the acquisition, annual Group revenues have risen to over £150m, with over 2,000 people employed over the five sites.
Commenting at the time, Lill said: “BBF is entirely focused on the bakery sector and this acquisition will be transformational for our business.”
Meanwhile, Leicestershire-based Geary’s Bakeries has invested £15m in a new bakery facility in a bid to keep up with increased demand for its products.
