ProVen VCT and ProVen Growth & Income VCT invested a total of £2.8 million in the deal.

The vendor, Sheila Donatantonio, will be leaving the business, but her husband Vincent and daughter Tanya Bedford will join the new management team. The company will be led by CEO Steve Asplen, who was introduced to the deal by Beringea.

Asplen comments: ‘The company has a first-class supplier network, a culture with a passion for Mediterranean foods and excellent customer service.’

Donatantonio was established in 1902 by Luigi Donatantonio as a retail outlet in Central London catering for the city’s growing Italian population. During the 1950s and 1960s, the company moved from retail to distribution, and now supplies food manufacturers with products including pasta, tomatoes and olive oil.

Beringea has offices in London, Detroit, Los Angeles and Shanghai. The firm, which also has an investment banking arm, launched its first VCT in 1996, a year after venture capital trusts were introduced.