Krispy Kreme and Greggs supplier sold through trade sale

Food distributor BFP Wholesale has been bought by private equity consortium Zimt for an undisclosed amount.

Kent-based BFP Wholesale is now under the ownership of private equity after its owner Lesaffre closed a disposal deal.

As a wholesale supplier of ambient, chilled and frozen food products, BFP Wholesale products and distributed to the likes of American doughnut business Krispy Kreme and high street bakery chain Greggs.

Through sale of 50,000 worth of food products in 2013, BFP posted revenues of £75 million and will now be run by investor Zimt.

Nick Harris, managing director of BFP Wholesale, comments, ‘In Zimt we have found a strong partner that is fully aligned with our goals and has the resources to help us drive the next phase of the company’s development. Seasoned executives will join the board to support us in our strategy.’

Investment consortium Zimt is led by David Burresi and Sebastian Sipp, who are both said to have significant experience in the private equity, mergers and acquisitions and senior management worlds.

Burresi says he was attracted to the ‘strong management team’ at BFP, a company which he believes is ‘ideally positioned for growth’.

Sipp adds, ‘By deploying our significant operational and management expertise we will be working closely with the management teams to develop BFP’s purchasing and distribution processes and will invest in its personnel and information systems to enable the firm to take advantage of a fast-changing environment.’

The sale of BFP to Zimt represents a ‘strategic choice of focus’ on its core activity of yeast production and sale, according to seller Lesaffre.

Hunter Ruthven

Hunter Ruthven

Hunter was the Editor for GrowthBusiness.co.uk from 2012 to 2014, before moving on to Caspian Media Ltd to be Editor of Real Business.