Bristol lawyers advise Yeo Valley on investment in challenger brand

Bristol-based lawyers at law firm Clarke Willmott have advised Yeo Valley Associates on its recent investment in the challenger brand The Curators.

The deal, the value of which has not been disclosed, will see The Curators grow its portfolio of high-protein meat and vegetarian snacks, including Yeo Valley Associates backed start-up Cheesies, a baked cheese bitesize snack.

As part of the transaction, Blagdon-based Yeo Valley’s venture fund Yeo Valley Associates has invested further cash in the newly-combined business.

A team at Clarke Willmott led by Rob Ridd, corporate partner in Bristol, advised YVA on both transactions.

“This deal involved some complex and innovative structuring advice, delivering the transaction on an accelerated timescale,” he said.

“We completed the transaction, balancing the interests of multiple stakeholders, in around a third of the usual lead time for a deal of this type. The result is a combined group which is now in a great position to build into the savoury snacks market.”

Yeo Valley CEO Tom Wright said: “We are excited for The Curators to lead Cheesies into its next stage of growth and to support them to capitalise on the synergies across both brands.”

Max Rees, co-founder of The Curators, which launched its first product in 2018, added: “Bringing Cheesies into our portfolio gives us even more opportunity to drive our vision of supercharging savoury snacking.

“There are a number of synergies between the two businesses. We are looking forward to building on the strong online momentum they have achieved, while using our experience to accelerate growth plans for the range in retail.”