Calbee UK Acquires Seabrook Crisps
Calbee UK has acquired the Seabrook Crisps business for an undisclosed sum from mid-market private equity investor LDC. The purchase brings the Seabrook brand into the Calbee UK portfolio as well as its equally important bagged-snack private label business.
LDC backed the management buyout of the Seabrook Crisps business in July 2015 to support its growth. Over the past three years, Seabrook has continued to invest in its manufacturing infrastructure, launch a number of new products and expand internationally.
Seabrook produces a range of crinkle cut, straight cut and lattice crisps, as well as low-calorie snacks, from its headquarters in Bradford, Yorkshire. It manufactures more than 250 million bags of crisps a year, which are enjoyed by consumers worldwide having successfully entered new markets including the United Arab Emirates, China, France, Spain and Australia.
The business employs 160 people at its Yorkshire HQ and for the financial year ending March 2018 recorded revenues of £29.8 million and profit (EBITDA) of £5 million, up 9% and 28% respectively during LDC’s tenure.
Calbee UK was created in 2015 when parent company, Japanese global snack-manufacturer, Calbee Inc, decided to enter into the well developed UK & European snack market, by establishing its first subsidiary in the region.. Founded more than 65 years ago, Calbee Inc is one of the largest snack companies in the world, employing more than 3,800 people across 12 different countries.
Richard Robinson, managing director of Calbee UK, says: “This is an exciting development which will allow us to combine and further leverage the skills and brands of two ambitious players in the UK savoury snack market – building an even more dynamic, innovative and effective snack business going forward. We firmly believe it will prove to be good news for both business and the UK snack industry as a whole.”
He adds: “This acquisition is good news for Calbee UK’s business aspirations and has been designed not for cost savings but to generate growth. Whilst wholly owned by Calbee UK, Seabrook will run separately as a business, sharing their expertise with Calbee and ours with them. Calbee intends to take time to properly understand the Seabrook business following the transfer of ownership of the business.”
