£40m luxury biscuit supplier completes MBO

Arden Fine Foods has completed a management buy-out (MBO), supported by Barclays.
After doubling turnover, the now £40m Coventry-based supplier of premium biscuits and bakery products, works with global food manufacturers to develop products for UK retailers including Tesco, Asda, M&S and Sainsbury’s.
It marks the third MBO completed by Arden over the last ten years.
The deal has been supported with funding from Barclays’ corporate team to enable the next generation of management to take Arden forward.
Arden shareholders have retained a significant interest in the business.
Helen Young, managing director of Arden said: “My team and I are delighted to have completed this transaction, and we look forward to working alongside the incoming management team who bring renewed energy and fresh ideas to the table. We continue to see great opportunities for growth that we intend to capitalise on over the coming years.”
The transaction was advised on by Springboard. The team was led by partner James Bailey and executive Zoe Mountford, with legal advice for the MBO team provided by Higgs (John Heaton and Richard Freeman) and Hill Dickinson (Matt Smith and Alexandra Bloomer) supporting the vendors. Tax advice was provided by Claritas. The Barclays team was led by Neil Barnes out of its Birmingham Corporate Centre.
Bailey said: “Arden is a great UK success story having developed an enviable market position over 25 years in operation. We have now worked with the company across three buy-outs and are delighted to continue our long-term relationship. The team have delivered an exceptional period of growth over the last 4 years, navigating some challenging economic headwinds and the company is well positioned to go from strength to strength.”