Rutland buys Hereford Contract Canning

Greg Gille
13 August 2019

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Rutland Partners has secured a majority stake in drinks canning business Hereford Contract Canning (HCC).

The business was sold via an auction process that included both trade and private equity buyers.

Rutland invested via the Rutland Fund III vehicle, which closed on £263m in 2015. HCC is the fund's eighth deal. The vehicle targets companies valued at between £20-150m, with Rutland committing between £10-50m per investment. The vehicle also has a co-investment option for LPs, enabling them to invest up to £50m per deal. The fund was 61% deployed as of September 2018, according to Unquote Data.

Rutland is bringing on board Julian Aitken as CEO and Robert Leechman as non-executive chair for HCC. They will work alongside the existing team and the founders of HCC, John Hibberd and Paul Burton, who will remain shareholders. A new long-term finance director is also in the process of being recruited.

The GP is planning to implement a capex-led expansion for the business, with further investment planned to increase HCC's canning capacity. This is in reaction to increased demand partly fuelled by the move away from plastic products in favour of metal cans, Rutland said.

Company
Based in Hereford, HCC is a contract canning company, focusing on small- to medium-sized batch runs of drinks with complexities in mixing, blending and canning. It cans both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.

HCC posted a £18.3m turnover and £1.3m profit before tax in 2018.

People
Rutland Partners – Nick Morrill (managing partner); David Wardrop (partner); Gessica Howarth (investment executive).

Advisers
Equity – PwC (corporate finance, financial & commercial due diligence, tax); FRP Advisory, Tom Cox, Andy Dimmock, Dave Edwards (debt advisory); Taylor Wessing, Ed Waldron, Mark Brewer, Jonny Bethell, Suzy Penney (legal); Chartwell, Andy Redfern (operational due diligence); Ramboll, Sophia Passmore (environmental due diligence).
Vendors – Adam Street Advisors, Andrew Barnsley (corporate finance); Acuity Law, Phil Pugh, Steve Berry, Tom Saunderson (legal).