Category Archives: News

Sika makes binding offer to acquire Parex

Combining two “growth engines”, highly complementary in product offering and channel penetration

Sika has made a binding offer to acquire Parex from its current owner CVC Fund V. Parex is a leading manufacturer of mortar solutions including facade mortars, tile adhesives, waterproofing, and technical mortars. In 2018 the company generated sales of CHF 1.2 billion and an expected EBITDA of around CHF 195 million. With its expertise in mortar solutions for renovation and new builds, Parex participates in all phases of the construction life cycle. Parex has a particularly strong presence in distribution channels, combining recognised brands with R&D expertise and technical excellence. It is locally present in 23 countries with key positions in 8 core geographies and operates 74 plants around the world.

Paul Schuler, CEO of Sika: “Parex is an excellent company with well recognised brands and an impressive performance track record. The businesses of Parex and Sika are highly complementary. Using Parex technologies as a growth platform in all our 101 countries and cross-selling of our products to the well established distribution channels of Parex will generate great profitable growth. Parex’s excellent facade business can be leveraged in the entire Sika world. We warmly welcome all employees of Parex to the Sika Family. We look forward to working with the Parex team and we are excited about expanding our joint business operations.”

Eric Bergé, CEO of Parex: “Under CVC Fund V’s ownership, the Parex team has delivered a very strong performance, growing sales from EUR 750 million in 2013 to over EUR 1 billion. Over this 5-year period, Parex entered 3 new countries and opened 16 new plants, added 11 bolt-on acquisitions, and built a new international R&D center. Sika represents a great platform to continue to deliver on Parex’s ambitious growth plan and the combination creates new exciting opportunities in terms of offering new solutions to our customers and continuing our geographic expansion. I would like to thank our sponsor, CVC Capital Partners, our teams across the world, and our customers for their trust and support in these past five years, and we look forward to working with Sika in the future.”

With this acquisition Sika will further strengthen its leading position in construction chemicals and industrial adhesives and will reach sales in excess of CHF 8 billion. It will deepen and widen Sika’s growth platform. Its mortar business, which is a key growth technology for the group and one of its important earning contributors, will more than double in size to CHF 2.3 billion. Parex’s strong position in distribution channels will open up new business opportunities for Sika’s product range. Parex will gain access to Sika’s well established direct sales channels and Parex’s expertise in the facade and tile setting business will allow Sika to participate in these growing and attractive market fields.

Financial Parameters

Annual synergies are expected to be in the range of CHF 80-100 million. Purchase price represents a 11.3x EV / pro forma EBITDA 19E multiple which will come down to less than 8.5x EV/EBITDA, including full run-rate synergies. The acquisition is value enhancing to Sika shareholders and is expected to be accretive to Sika’s earnings per share from the first full year post closing. The financing of the transaction is secured by a bridge loan facility committed by UBS and Citi. Sika remains committed to maintaining a strong investment grade credit rating and intends to put in place a long-term funding structure comprising a combination of cash-on-hand, bank loans, and capital market instruments.

The acquisition is implemented in various steps. The parties have signed an exclusive binding offer. The completion of the transaction is subject to French works council consultation process and regulatory approvals and is expected in Q2/Q3 2019.

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Swedish expansion of airteam continues

Ratos

Ratos’s subsidiary airteam is continuing its expansion in Sweden through the acquisition of Creovent AB (Creovent) and Thorszelius Ventilation & Service AB (Thorszelius), leading installers of climate and ventilation solutions in the Stockholm and Uppsala regions.

airteam, a leading supplier of ventilation solutions in Denmark, is strengthening its market position in Sweden through the acquisition of Aurvandil AB, who owns the subsidiaries Creovent and Thorszelius. Together they have approximately 85 employees with offices in Stockholm and Uppsala. Pro forma sales in 2017 for both companies amounted to approximately SEK 235m and adjusted EBITA to SEK 24m. The companies offer efficient climate and ventilation solutions, including service and maintenance, to a customer base comprising property owners, construction companies and the public sector. This is airteam’s second acquisition in the Swedish market and its third bolt-on acquisition overall since Ratos became principal owner of the company in 2016.

“With the acquisition of Creovent and Thorszelius, airteam is continuing its strategic investments in Sweden, and together with the acquisition of Luftkontroll Energy in Örebro last year, airteam now has a strong market position in the expansive Mälardalen region. Creovent and Thorszelius are well-run companies with strong market positions in the Stockholm and Uppsala regions and have competent management teams, who will remain in their roles and be partners in the company moving forward. We welcome Creovent and Thorszelius to airteam and look forward with confidence to growing together in Sweden,” says Robin Molvin, Vice President of Ratos.

The acquisition is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2019 and is being financed by airteam without any capital contribution from Ratos.

For further information, please contact:
Robin Molvin, Vice President, Ratos, +46 8 700 17 15
Helene Gustafsson, Head of IR and Press, Ratos, +46 8 700 17 98

About Ratos:
Ratos is an investment company that owns and develops unlisted medium-sized Nordic companies. Our goal as an active owner is to contribute to the long-term and sustainable business development in the companies we invest in and to make value-generating transactions. Ratos’s portfolio consists of 12 medium-sized Nordic companies and the largest segments in terms of sales are Construction, Industrials and Consumer goods/retail. Ratos is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm and has a total of approximately 12,300 employees.

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Gaw Capital Partners and Consortium Partners Acquire Four Premium Grade A Office Buildings (Block A, B, C & D) at Shanghai MixC

Gaw Capital

January 7, 2019, Shanghai – Real estate private equity firm Gaw Capital Partners and consortium partners announced that the firm, through a fund under its management, have acquired four premium Grade A office buildings (Block A, B, C, & D) at Shanghai MixC, 1799 Wuzhong Road in the Minhang District of Shanghai from China Resources Capital Management Ltd.

The project is comprised of four Grade A office blocks, with a total saleable GFA of 60,807 sqm (654,521 sq. ft.). Its office area consists of 56,950 sqm (613,005 sq. ft.) with 3,857 sqm (41,516 sq. ft.) of retail space. The project is situated in the greater Hongqiao area and is at the conjunction of three districts (Changning, Xuhui and Minhang), enjoying excellent transport links from its position on top of the Ziteng Road Metro Station on Metro Line 10 and a shuttle bus service to Hechuan Road Metro Station on Metro Line 9. The office buildings are in close proximity to important business districts, including Hongqiao, Caohejin, Qibao, Xinzhuang, Xujiahui, Zhongshan Park, Gubei and South Shanghai Railway Station, among others, with tenants enjoying the benefit of sophisticated commercial infrastructure at the properties. They are also adjacent to the city’s Korean community, which is an especially attractive location for Korean companies such as Samsung and LG, providing the properties with a strong potential tenant base.

With the development of the high-speed railway significantly reducing travel time, the project’s proximity to Hongqiao Railway Station makes it an ideal office location for companies that are headquartered in other Yangtze River Delta cities but plan to expand to Shanghai and to the rest of the country.

The project is next to Shanghai MixC mall, developed and run by China Resources Land, creating a strong synergy with the office buildings and provides advanced amenity support. The project will offer a diversified income stream with long-term rental and capital appreciation potential in a promising location that is very attractive for office tenants.

Shanghai government has initiated a wide range of policies to facilitate the development of decentralized areas, which in turn stimulates office demand. With tenants looking to move away from central areas in recent years, and thanks to its great accessibility and mature business environment, we are confident that the office buildings will be attractive for tenants that would like an alternative to the high rents in Shanghai’s CBD area.

Humbert Pang, Managing Principal and Head of China for Gaw Capital Partners, said: “Followed by our previous acquisition of SKY SOHO in April 2018, Gaw Capital is confident in acquiring four premium Grade A office  buildings (Block A, B, C & D) at Shanghai MixC, which presents an excellent opportunity to capture the growth opportunities arising from the Shanghai Hongqiao Transportation Hub. With the China International Import Expo (CIIE), the world’s first import-themed national level expo, and Hongqiao International Trade Forum, being held at National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai) in Hongqiao Central Business District, it brings more vibrant commercial activities in the area.”

He added, “The current existing tenancy structure and tenancy mix could be further optimized and upgraded to achieve better overall rental performance. Gaw Capital will enhance the building’s quality and image by applying its unique approach to asset management to provide a better working environment and attract more tenants.”

Gaw Capital’s asset management team will also look to enhance the property through adding innovations to the common areas such as the entrance, lobby and lift lobby, and reshuffling the signage and advertising space so as to enhance its rental performance.

Gaw Capital has over 13 years of experience investing in and/or turning around commercial properties in Greater China, including Hong Kong. The firm successfully transformed and repositioned properties such as 133 Wai Yip Street in Hong Kong, a former 12-storey industrial building turned creative office space; Sky Bridge HQ, a mixed-use project located in the heart of Linkong Economic Park in Shanghai; Pacific Century Place in Beijing, a 170,000 sqm (1.8 million sq. ft.) renovated mixed-use commercial property with two office towers and two serviced apartment blocks on a retail podium; Cross Tower in Shanghai, a 22-storey office with a two-storey retail podium; Ciro’s Plaza in Shanghai, a mixed-use property with a 39-storey office building and a 28,000 sqm (302,000 sq. ft.) retail mall; Plaza 353 in Shanghai, a 40,000 sqm (430,000 sq. ft.) renovated mall with historical heritage status; Popark Plaza in Guangzhou, a 92,400 sqm (994,000 sq. ft.) retail mall connected to the Guangzhou East Railway Station, with high-speed trains to Shenzhen and Hong Kong, and access to two major subway lines; and Metropolitan Plaza in Guangzhou, a 88,800 sqm (956,000 sq. ft.) mall located above two subway lines.

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Universal-Investment acquires labs from Lupus alpha

Montagu

The Universal-Investment group, based in Frankfurt / Main and Luxembourg, is acquiring the Frankfurt-based IT service provider for financial companies, labs, from its former owner, Lupus alpha Asset Management AG. labs will continue to operate as an independent company under the “UI labs” brand.

For Universal-Investment, the acquisition of the IT data specialist – which focuses on front-office and data solutions for financial companies – is yet another step towards becoming the leading European fund-service platform for all asset classes. In doing so, the company will round off its 360-degree portfolio for institutional investors, asset managers and fund initiators.

labs, which was formed in 2009, is amongst the industry’s leading software and IT consultancies. The company integrates heterogeneous data ecosystems, creates data-management solutions compliant with regulatory requirements, and visualises the data. It offers its customers the entire process from a single source – from the initial analysis through to implementation; in doing so, labs specialises in areas such as front-office solutions based on Software-as-a-Service models, data warehousing and analytics, PRIIPs (Packaged Retail and Insurance-based Investment Products) or the German Investment Tax Reform Act (“Investmentsteuerreform”). labs develops software products for asset managers, investment companies, custodians, insurance companies, wealth managers and family offices. In doing so, its team concentrates on the areas of front-office solutions, data management and reporting.

Universal-Investment CEO, Bernd Vorbeck, explains: “Digitalisation, in particular, is an important competitive factor in the financial sector. For Universal-Investment’s business model as an infrastructure platform for the fund industry, it is without doubt the decisive one. Especially, providing and optimising data services is a central issue for developing intelligent, innovative asset management solutions, streamlining processes and boosting efficiency. We’re therefore delighted that labs will become part of our growth strategy.”

Ralf Lochmüller, founding partner and CEO of Lupus alpha, confirms: “We successfully developed labs from an IT startup to an established supplier; we are convinced it will optimally leverage its continued growth potential at Universal-Investment in future.”

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dogado acquires checkdomain and becomes one of the leading hosting providers in Germany

Triton

Dortmund/Lübeck (Germany), 7 January 2019 – dogado GmbH, a company of the Triton III portfolio company European Directories, acquired checkdomain. With the acquisition, dogado now serves more than 190,000 customers with domains, web hosting and cloud services. This makes dogado one of the leading hosting providers in Germany.

The Lübeck-based company checkdomain was founded by Johannes Herold and specialises in domain reservations. With around 800 TLDs from all over the world, checkdomain supports almost every combination of domain extension and desired domain name. Almost 50,000 customers, including customers such as Axel Springer and Sennheiser, value this service and the associated reliability.

For dogado, the acquisition was an important milestone in the company’s own development. Daniel Hagemeier, CEO of dogado, is pleased about the acquisition: “checkdomain and dogado not only share a common market but, above all, a common philosophy: We place the focus on the customer to enable them to operate successfully online. We found the perfect match in checkdomain for providing our customers with ideas for the right name for their online projects.”

Through this acquisition, dogado continues the ongoing consolidation in the hosting market. Thanks to the support of Triton, dogado has completed more than twelve acquisitions in Germany in recent years. Björn Osterloff, Operating Partner and advisor to the Triton funds and responsible for Dogado/EDSA  commented: “Triton’s goal,  through partnership with management teams, is to successfully develop its portfolio companies over the long-term.Together with the dogado management team, we developed a successful acquisition strategy for the hosting market right from the start. Thanks to the rapidly developing size of the company, dogado was able to provide its own customers with an even better portfolio of cloud services.”

About dogado

The dogado group, based in Dortmund, Hanover, Halle (Saale) and Lübeck, is a cloud hosting provider for business customers. After its founding in 2001, the company initially relied on professional hosting services and later, it became one of the first German specialists to offer corporate cloud-based services. With more than 120 employees and the brands checkdomain, BUSYMOUSE, dogado and alfahosting, the Group serves more than 190,000 customers and is one of the leading hosting companies in Germany.

About Triton
The Triton funds invest in and support the positive development of medium-sized businesses headquartered in Europe, focusing on businesses in the Industrial, Business Services and Consumer/Health sectors.

Triton seeks to contribute to the building of better businesses for the longer term. Triton and its executives wish to be agents of positive change towards sustainable operational improvements and growth. The 38 companies currently in Triton’s portfolio have combined sales of around € 13.1 billion and around 85,000 employees.

The Triton funds are advised by dedicated teams of professionals based in Germany, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Italy, the United Kingdom, the United States, China, Luxembourg and Jersey.

For more information: www.triton-partners.com

Press Contact:

Triton
Marcus Brans
Phone: +49 69 921 02204

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CBPE invests in IDEAL Networks

CBPE

CBPE Capital (“CBPE”) has acquired a majority ownership position in IDEAL Networks, a market leading Industrial Technology business which provides portable handsets for data cable and network testing, validation and certification. CBPE is acquiring the business from its former parent, IDEAL INDUSTRIES Inc and will be investing alongside the incumbent management team led by Paul Walsh, CEO. Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.

IDEAL Networks’ products improve the productivity of qualified engineers who install, test and maintain network cabling and services. They work by simulating data flow to provide network diagnostics, enabling the engineers to certify newly installed network cabling or to resolve network issues across both Local Area Networks (LAN) and Wide Area Networks (WAN). IDEAL Networks is a global business, with sales across the EMEA, North America, Latin America and Asia.

Its comprehensive portfolio of products means that IDEAL Networks is well positioned to take advantage of a high growth market driven by ever-increasing demands for rapid and reliable network connectivity to facilitate global trends of faster transmission of data, voice and video signals.

CBPE will work with management to build on IDEAL Networks’ reputation for product innovation and will invest in research and development. The business will continue to offer market leading products developed to suit the needs of its end users.

CBPE has a strong track record of acquiring subsidiaries or divisions from larger parents and supporting these in becoming successful standalone businesses. Examples from CBPE’s current and realised portfolio include: SAFECHEM, which was acquired from The Dow Chemical Company; Xafinity, which was acquired from the Equiniti Group; and BWA, which was acquired from Chemtura. CBPE will leverage this experience to support the management team in establishing IDEAL Networks as an independent market leader and in pursuing ambitious international growth.

Mathew Hutchinson, Partner, CBPE said:
“IDEAL Networks has successfully established a reputation for quality and service in an attractive and growing market, and we are confident that the business will thrive under independent ownership. We will work with the management team and support their commitment to continue to offer innovative products and services which match the needs of the customer base.”

Paul Walsh, CEO of IDEAL Networks said:
“We are delighted to be working with CBPE and look forward to establishing IDEAL Networks as a successful, independent market leader. IDEAL INDUSTRIES has been a supportive owner and has enabled us to reach this stage of our development. With CBPE, we are confident we have found a partner that will provide valuable input as we pursue our exciting growth plans.”

CBPE’s investment in IDEAL Networks was led by Mathew Hutchinson with support from Ben Lewis, James Whittington and Aqil Sohail. Mathew Hutchinson and Ben Lewis will join the Board of IDEAL Networks.

Reed Smith acted as legal advisers to CBPE and PMSI provided the commercial due diligence advice. William Blair acted as financial adviser to IDEAL INDUSTRIES Inc.

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Universal-Investment acquires labs from Lupus alpha

Montagu

Frankfurt | 07 January 2019

The Universal-Investment group, based in Frankfurt / Main and Luxembourg, is acquiring the Frankfurt-based IT service provider for financial companies, labs, from its former owner, Lupus alpha Asset Management AG. labs will continue to operate as an independent company under the “UI labs” brand.

For Universal-Investment, the acquisition of the IT data specialist – which focuses on front-office and data solutions for financial companies – is yet another step towards becoming the leading European fund-service platform for all asset classes. In doing so, the company will round off its 360-degree portfolio for institutional investors, asset managers and fund initiators.

labs, which was formed in 2009, is amongst the industry’s leading software and IT consultancies. The company integrates heterogeneous data ecosystems, creates data-management solutions compliant with regulatory requirements, and visualises the data. It offers its customers the entire process from a single source – from the initial analysis through to implementation; in doing so, labs specialises in areas such as front-office solutions based on Software-as-a-Service models, data warehousing and analytics, PRIIPs (Packaged Retail and Insurance-based Investment Products) or the German Investment Tax Reform Act (“Investmentsteuerreform”). labs develops software products for asset managers, investment companies, custodians, insurance companies, wealth managers and family offices. In doing so, its team concentrates on the areas of front-office solutions, data management and reporting.

Universal-Investment CEO, Bernd Vorbeck, explains: “Digitalisation, in particular, is an important competitive factor in the financial sector. For Universal-Investment’s business model as an infrastructure platform for the fund industry, it is without doubt the decisive one. Especially, providing and optimising data services is a central issue for developing intelligent, innovative asset management solutions, streamlining processes and boosting efficiency. We’re therefore delighted that labs will become part of our growth strategy.”

Ralf Lochmüller, founding partner and CEO of Lupus alpha, confirms: “We successfully developed labs from an IT startup to an established supplier; we are convinced it will optimally leverage its continued growth potential at Universal-Investment in future.”

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Universal-Investment acquires labs from Lupus alpha

Montagu

Frankfurt | 07 January 2019

The Universal-Investment group, based in Frankfurt / Main and Luxembourg, is acquiring the Frankfurt-based IT service provider for financial companies, labs, from its former owner, Lupus alpha Asset Management AG. labs will continue to operate as an independent company under the “UI labs” brand.

For Universal-Investment, the acquisition of the IT data specialist – which focuses on front-office and data solutions for financial companies – is yet another step towards becoming the leading European fund-service platform for all asset classes. In doing so, the company will round off its 360-degree portfolio for institutional investors, asset managers and fund initiators.

labs, which was formed in 2009, is amongst the industry’s leading software and IT consultancies. The company integrates heterogeneous data ecosystems, creates data-management solutions compliant with regulatory requirements, and visualises the data. It offers its customers the entire process from a single source – from the initial analysis through to implementation; in doing so, labs specialises in areas such as front-office solutions based on Software-as-a-Service models, data warehousing and analytics, PRIIPs (Packaged Retail and Insurance-based Investment Products) or the German Investment Tax Reform Act (“Investmentsteuerreform”). labs develops software products for asset managers, investment companies, custodians, insurance companies, wealth managers and family offices. In doing so, its team concentrates on the areas of front-office solutions, data management and reporting.

Universal-Investment CEO, Bernd Vorbeck, explains: “Digitalisation, in particular, is an important competitive factor in the financial sector. For Universal-Investment’s business model as an infrastructure platform for the fund industry, it is without doubt the decisive one. Especially, providing and optimising data services is a central issue for developing intelligent, innovative asset management solutions, streamlining processes and boosting efficiency. We’re therefore delighted that labs will become part of our growth strategy.”

Ralf Lochmüller, founding partner and CEO of Lupus alpha, confirms: “We successfully developed labs from an IT startup to an established supplier; we are convinced it will optimally leverage its continued growth potential at Universal-Investment in future.”

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SOVEREIGN backs the MBO of UK energy broker UTILITY BIDDER

Sovereign Capital

Sovereign Capital Partners, the UK private equity Buy & Build specialist, is delighted to announce the management buy-out of Utility Bidder, a leading energy broker, offering energy procurement services to UK, SME customers.  This is the second MBO Sovereign has backed in recent months and follows that of Asset Control, the financial data management business. Sovereign has partnered with the management team of Utility Bidder to further develop the business through a strategy of organic and acquisitive growth.

Founded in 2009, and headquartered in Corby, England, the business employs over 100 staff and has a growing sales office in Manchester. The company currently brokers energy and other utilities contracts to over 14,500 SME clients across a number of industry sectors in the UK.

Utility Bidder has performed strongly growing sales by over 40% in the current year. Sovereign will work with the management team to support the growth strategy in what is an exciting market. The team is led by an experienced CEO, Chris Shaw; Sovereign has augmented the management team with the appointment of Mark Wood, formerly CEO of Axa UK, as non-executive Chairman. Founders James Longley and Sally Martin remain with the business, James as Utility Bidder’s MD.

“We are delighted to have Sovereign’s backing.” said Chris Shaw. “We operate in an exciting market with great opportunities. Sovereign has a tremendous track-record of backing high-quality growth businesses that have the potential to significantly scale-up. We look forward to further developing our product offering and growing our client base with Sovereign’s investment and partnership.”

Jeremy Morgan, Partner at Sovereign, said, “We are very pleased to be supporting this business and strong management team in what is a burgeoning market. Utility Bidder has already achieved tremendous success and enjoys established relationships with both its SME customer base and its energy suppliers.  We look forward to working with Chris and the team to help take this top ranked energy broker to the next stage of growth.”

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Piper invests in fast growing healthy recipe box brand Mindful Chef

Piper

Piper have invested £6m into Mindful Chef, the UK’s favourite healthy recipe box brand.

Mindful Chef was set up by childhood school friends Rob Grieg-Gran, Giles Humphries and Myles Hopper with a mission to make healthy eating easy. Since its launch in 2015 it has experienced rapid growth – including a 178% rise in sales in the past year – delivering nearly two million meals to UK consumers. Based in Wandsworth, London, the brand has annualised sales of £10m and employs 27 people.

With its focus on making healthy eating easy, all Mindful Chef’s meals are healthy and nutritionally balanced, are gluten and dairy free, containing no refined carbs or sugars. All the ingredients are fresh, high quality and sustainably sourced from local farmers where possible. Each week 16 different recipes are available for customers to select from. For the growing number of UK consumers continuing to seek out a healthier lifestyle, Mindful Chef helps customers discover and cook quick and easy nutritious, tasty recipes in a way that is convenient, saves them time and reduces food wastage by providing only the food you need to eat and reducing trips to the supermarket.

For many customers, Mindful Chef has ignited or rekindled the enjoyment of cooking and a delight in discovering new otherwise difficult to source ingredients and flavours. Customers are also supporting Mindful Chef’s charity One Feeds 2, through their purchases. For every meal purchased, Mindful Chef donates a meal to a child in poverty – to date the company has provided more than 770,000 meals for children in living in poverty.

Piper’s £6m investment will enable the business to continue to grow and expand its customer base in the UK, helping it capitalise on the rapid growth of the recipe box market which is forecast to double over the next 10 years. It is the fifth investment from our sixth £125m fund.

Tim Lee, previously Head of Food and Online Strategy at Marks & Spencer, joined the business earlier in 2018 as CEO.

Rory Gibbs, Piper’s Investment Director who led the deal, said: ‘Mindful Chef is well placed to continue accelerating the growth of the recipe box market with its highly differentiated health focused positioning. We are backing a young, dynamic team who are passionate about making healthy eating easier for their customers. We are excited to be joining them and helping them to realise their ambitions.’

For more information, please contact:
Rory Gibbs, Investment Director
Email: rory@piper.co.uk
Phone +44 (0)207 727 3842

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