McCambridge buys Inter Link

Irish food specialist McCambridge Group plc has bought the UK's second-largest cake maker.

Inter Link Foods plc, which makes malt loaf brand Soreen and private-label cakes for UK supermarkets, was sold by its administrator.

Bill Dawson and Nick Dargan of Deloitte LLP were appointed administrators to the company and its subsidiaries due to falling sales.

The company has acquired all Inter Link’s brands as part of the acquisition, which includes its Polish cake and biscuit manufacturer, Cukiernia Mistrza Jana.

McCambridge was advised by Davenport Lyons, which was led by Jeanette Gregson who was assisted by Julie Killip, Richard Kelsey, Marie van der Zyl and Paul Toolan.

The financial due diligence review was handled by Derek Rawlings, a partner at Rawlinson & Hunter.

Rawlings said with Inter Link’s looming administration the deal had to be completed in a short time scale, which was complicated by the scale and complexity of the company’s pre-deal structure.

He added that the firm was introduced to the deal by Seymour Pierce. “Because we have worked previously with the firm, they were aware that we could produce quality and incisive due diligence in the short timescale that the deal structure necessitated.

“The transaction adds considerable bulk to the McCambridge Group, which should enable it to take advantage of the opportunities expected to arise in the international market in the short and medium terms.”

The administrator was advised on the disposal by the Leeds office of DLA Piper.

Inter Link Foods is the cake maker behind RHM’s Mr. Kipling cakes. It manufactures fresh, chilled, frozen and tinned cakes under its own and private labels, for the retail grocery and foodservice operators.

The company’s brands include The Cake Shop, Creative Cakes, Crossfield Foods, Hoppers, Maid Marian, Soreen, William Lusty and Yorkshire Cottage Bakeries. It also holds exclusive licenses to make cakes featuring popular cartoon characters.

Marc Barber

Marc Barber

Marc was editor of GrowthBusiness from 2006 to 2010. He specialised in writing about entrepreneurs, private equity and venture capital, mid-market M&A, small caps and high-growth businesses.

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