Unsworth Family acquired Aimia Foods
The Unsworth Family acquired Aimia Foods Limited, a market-leading UK-based food and drink company with a turnover of GBP 120 million.
Aimia has been supported with facilities from HSBC and Beechbrook Capital to accelerate organic growth and enable investment to boost in-house manufacturing.
The acquisition means a return to ownership for the Unsworths, who founded the business in 1981. They ran and developed Aimia until its sale to Cott Corporation in 2014. With a 40+ year heritage in the food and drink manufacturing industry, the Unsworth Family have extensive knowledge, experience, and contacts to drive their ambitious plans.
Aimia is a diversified food and drink manufacturing business, selling through a variety of channels such as retail, vending, foodservice, cash & carry, and online. It owns and partners with an impressive portfolio of brands serving the UK retail channel, including Horlicks, Drink Me Chai, and leading confectionary and bubble tea brands, and serves the broader “out of home” channel with trade brands such as Milfresh, Café Nueva, and Shmoo.
As part of the transaction, all of the current senior management team will remain in post, with Rob Unsworth joining as chair.
Clairfield was engaged by the Unsworth Family to explore the potential repurchase of Aimia and act as lead financial advisors during the process.
“I am delighted that once again Aimia has been bought back under family ownership. This is a special business we know very well which stands out in many ways from the competition. The business will remain headed by Paul Whitlow as MD and the leadership team will be unchanged. We will also continue to support the strategic direction of the business, which is driving growth through the manufacturing and sale of branded goods within the beverage category both in the UK and overseas,” said Rob Unsworth.
Consumer & retail
Acquisition
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