Maven, Connection reap 1.8x on Atlantic Foods sale

The sale saw the backers reap 1.8x their investment.

Previous funding
Connection Capital (then Hotbed) invested £5m in the £17.5m BIMBO of Atlantic Foods in April 2007 for a substantial minority stake. GE Commercial Finance provided debt to support that transaction. In February 2008, Hotbed sold part of its stake to Maven (then Aberdeen Asset Management) for £1.5m.

In April 2010, HSBC, Connection and Maven partially financed Atlantic Foods' acquisition of sauces, dressings and dips manufacturer Oasis Foods.

Company
Atlantic Foods was established in 1991 and operates from premises near Hook in Hampshire. It has grown from a turnover of £20m and an eight-strong staff at the time of Connection's 2007 investment to generating revenues of more than £50m from 23 staff today. Atlantic forecasts EBITDA of £4.5-5m for this current financial year. The newly enlarged group expects to generate revenues of £200m.

The business supplies chicken and other meat products, sauces and dressings, and salad accompaniments to customers in the pub, restaurant and fast-food sectors. The company's business model is based on outsourcing manufacture, warehousing and distribution. Its customers include Domino's Pizza, Mitchells & Butlers and Greene King.

People
Andrew Symmonds is portfolio manager at Maven. Claire Madden is co-founder of Connection Capital. Russell Maddock is CEO of Atlantic Foods.

Advisers
Vendors (Equity & management) – Stamford Partners (Corporate finance); EMW Law, Nick Lloyd (Legal).
Management – Wilkins Kennedy, Andy Coghlan (Corporate finance); PDT Solicitors, Noel Ruddy (Legal).

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• Topics
• Exits
• Consumer
• UK / Ireland
• Maven Capital Partners
• Trade sale