Alantra advises Premier Foods plc on the acquisition of FUEL10K

Oct 2023

Buy-side advisory

London – Alantra, the independent global mid-market financial services firm, has advised Premier Foods plc (“Premier Foods”, the “Company” or the “Group”) on its acquisition of FUEL10K, a high growth breakfast foods brand with a portfolio of protein enriched granola, oats and drinks products, as the Group significantly expands its presence in the breakfast meal occasion.

Premier Foods is one of the UK’s largest food producers, with over 4,000 employees operating from 15 sites, producing a range of iconic brands including Batchelors, Bisto, Loyd Grossman, OXO, Ambrosia, Mr Kipling and Sharwood’s. The Group has been listed on the London Stock Exchange since 2004 and has a market capitalisation of c£1 billion.

The acquisition of FUEL10K significantly increases the Group’s exposure to the breakfast category, building on the success of Ambrosia porridge pots. Premier Foods expects to unlock significant future value by leveraging its proven branded growth model and expanding the product range beyond the breakfast occasion.

Alantra has completed a range of transactions within the Food & Beverage sector over the last two years, having advised The Hero Group on the sale of Juvela to S-Ventures plc, Francesco Illy on the sale of a minority stake in the family holding company Gruppo Illy, Argos Wityu on the sale of La Compagnie des Desserts to PAI Partners, Frusel on its sale to Groupe Ocealia, Naturgreen on its sale to The Natural Fruit Company, San Francisco de Loncomilla on its sale to Carozzi, Aakamp on its sale to Procemsa, FSN Capital on the acquisition of Bäcker Görtz, Walsh Whiskey on its sale to Amber Beverage Group, Ares on the sale of Frial to Le Duff Group, and Patent Co on its partnership with RWA, amongst others.

The Alantra team advising Premier Foods was led by Charles Lanceley, Head of UK Food & Beverage. He was supported by Ollie Hickley, Dominic Barnes and Luca Vitale.

Charles Lanceley, Head of UK Food & Beverage, said, “FUEL10K has quickly become one of the most disruptive brands in the breakfast category due to its range of innovative protein enriched products and loyal following of consumers. Acquiring FUEL10K provides Premier Foods with a great platform to accelerate its growth in the breakfast meal occasion. We are proud to have supported Premier Foods on this transaction.”

Alex Whitehouse, Chief Executive Officer of Premier Foods, said, “The acquisition of FUEL10K follows on from our successful integration of The Spice Tailor, where we have increased revenue and profit through the application of our branded growth model. FUEL10K provides us with an ideal platform to accelerate our expansion into the breakfast category, building on our recent successful launch of Ambrosia porridge pots. Possessing a differentiated category position, with its protein-enriched product range and appealing to a younger demographic, we expect to deliver significant further profitable growth of FUEL10K through the deployment of our successful branded growth model.”

Barney Mauleverer, Co-founder of FUEL10K, said, “We are very excited to be passing the reins on to the owner of such a great stable of UK brands. Having built the foundations from start-up, the FUEL10K brand is now primed to accelerate into the future and achieve even more great things. I could not think of a better custodian of our brand than Premier Foods to entrust what we have begun and make the most of such a great opportunity.”