Multinational food manufacturer snaps up desserts baker in major acquisition deal

A Wiltshire-headquartered desserts baker has been acquired by food manufacturing giant Bakkavor in a £12 million deal.

Haydens, a producer of sweet bakery goods for large grocery retailers across the UK, was also a subsidiary of Real Good Food which ran two sites in Devizes and Wiltshire with roughly 500 members of staff to its name.

Founded in 1976, Haydens also operates a distribution network for a major UK retailer.

Its acquisition to Bakkavor, a registered supplier of freshly prepared food, is expected to push growth and capacity for both companies.

Chief executive of Bakkavor, Agust Gudmundsson, said: “This acquisition will grow both our capacity and product offering in the Desserts category, and we are delighted to be welcoming Haydens’ management and the wider team to our business.

“It is a business which shares Bakkavor’s passion for providing outstanding service, quality and value to its customers and has a reputation for supplying some of the best tasting sweet treats to the UK’s leading retailers.”

Haydens has been a part of Real Good Food since its inception in 2003, and has since roped in £31.3 million in revenues in the financial year ending 31 March 2017, which was at a break-even level at its operating profits.

Considering the adjustments to working capital and net debt, the total acquisition consideration has amounted to £12 million.

Hugh Cawley, the chief executive at Real Good Food, said: “Given the sizeable areas of common interest, we believe that Haydens and its staff will prosper better in partnership with Bakkavor.

“This disposal marks an important next step in the restricting and performance improvement of Real Good Food and is in line with our turnaround plan for the group.”

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