The management of F Bender, a manufacturer of paper catering products, has acquired the company for an undisclosed sum. Barclays Ventures backed the deal with £5.25 million in return for an equity stake.

The management of F Bender, a manufacturer of paper catering products, has acquired the company for an undisclosed sum. Barclays Ventures backed the deal with £5.25 million in return for an equity stake.

The MBO follows the rescue of F Bender by Barclays Business Support five months before.

F Bender’s management team, comprising managing director Andy Cunliffe, finance director Michelle Woodward and sales director David Lawlor, and the Pension Protection Fund, also hold stakes in the company.

David Hargreaves, who was appointed chairman by Barclays Business Support before the MBO, will leave the company in May or June. He says: ‘It is no secret that F Bender has been through a very tough period recently, but things are really looking up thanks to this deal.’

F Bender manufactures and markets items such as paper cups, napkins and tabletop covers. Based in Wrexham, it also has a production site in London and employs 275 people.