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The Food and Drink Business

Articles, news and analysis on UK and European growth companies operating in the food and drink sectors.

News

Octopus swallows Perfect Pizza

Octopus Asset Management – operator of the BioScience, Phoenix and Eclipse series of venture capital trusts – has invested £3 million in Perfect Pizza, the UK’s third largest pizza delivery outfit.

News

Thorntons buyout sours

Christopher Burnett is to step down as chairman of chocolatier Thorntons, after his plans to take the business private via an £87 million management buyout were scrapped on the grounds of price.

Entrepreneurs

Paramount for success?

Paramount 21 is a labour of love for its chairman, Alison Hannaford. Not only does her passion for food underpin her considerable enthusiasm for the business, but there is also an deep-seated emotional involvement.

Entrepreneurs

Eat Natural’s healthy growth

Despite knowing nothing about food retailing, the manufacturing industry or even home cooking, Preet Grewal and Praveen Vijh have created the fastest-growing cereal bar brand in the UK. GrowthBusiness reports on a duo that are giving the giants of the food trade a run for their money.

Entrepreneurs

William Kendall: Breaking the mould

William Kendall turned his back on the army, the legal profession and investment banking to be the driving force behind the business success story of Green & Black’s chocolate, yet he doesn’t consider himself to be an entrepreneur.

News

Derry reels in Loch Fyne

Fish restaurants chain Loch Fyne has agreed to a management buyout led by chief executive Mark Derry. The deal, which values the concern at £21.8 million, has been backed by Hutton Collins Mezzanine Partners.

News

Matrix tucks into Maynard

Matrix Private Equity has completed its seventh management buyout in just 12 months, investing £2.1 million in Maynard Scotts – the UK’s ‘largest manufacturer of chocolate fudge cake for the food service industry.’

News

Hartford gobbles up Beans

AIM-quoted restaurateur Hartford, which runs Jamies bars, has bought American-style chain Henry J Beans for £5.8 million from a consortium of investors including the Guinness Flight, Elderstreet and Chrysalis VCTs.

Entrepreneurs

Innocent Drinks road to success

In the late 1990s, Adam Balon, Jon Wright and Richard Reed came up with the idea of a device to automatically fill your bath, but, on account of the dangerous mix of water and electricity involved, they changed tack and started selling fruit smoothies instead.

Entrepreneurs

Wade Lyn: Expanding a business into other product areas

Wade Lyn founded Jamaican pattie producer Cleone Foods in 1987, intent on bringing Caribbean cuisine to the mainstream market. The business, which employs 44 people, is now looking to expand into other product areas.

Entrepreneurs

Back to the drawing board: Arthur Rackham

To safeguard his father’s 15-strong off-licence chain, James Rackham took the rather courageous step of closing every store bar one. Fortunately business has since thrived.

Entrepreneurs

Bobby Hashemi: The biggest gamble of my life

Bobby Hashemi founded Coffee Republic in 1995 and stepped down in 2001, having created a successful operation. A year later, with the share price slumping, following substantial losses, he returned to the helm.

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