Consumer products group 151 Products has acquired the business and assets of Swirl Products, which trades as Fmcg, out of administration.
The business behind the Escenti, Head Funk, Nuage, Salon Chic and Active Handwash brands was forced to appoint restructuring and advisory firm FRP Advisory earlier this month after suffering an “acute shortfall” in cashflow.
New owner 151, and its investment arm b7 Ventures, said the rescue deal would allow further investment into the Fmcg business.
Fmcg supplies its products to supermarkets, pharmacies, discounters and wholesalers throughout the UK and in 32 countries around the world.
“With the support of the 151 infrastructure and our access to market, we expect a very exciting future for the fmcg brands, and a far more stable trading environment for their long-standing UK suppliers,” said Richard Shonn, managing director of 151 Products and partner of b7 Ventures.
FRP said that fmcg had performed well in recent times but its problems followed the sale of shares to Statestrong Products Ltd, which itself collapsed on 7 October. The administration of fmcg allowed the ongoing trading to be ring-fenced from Statestrong.
Ben Shapiro, partner at b7 Ventures, which targets acquisitions within the fmcg supply chain, added: “Swirl’s underlying business remains profitable, it ended up in administration only as a result of the failure of its parent company Statestrong Products Limited earlier this month. With the right funding the fmcg team will be able to continue to grow its core brands and build on its success to date.”
151 Products was established by father-and-son team Steven and Richard Shonn in Manchester. It has several brand categories, including personal care, household, pet, car care and gardening.
The deal has secured the jobs of the “core” staff at fmcg, which had nine employees at the time of the administration.
Law firm Gatelely acted for B7 Ventures and Squire Patton Boggs advised the joint administrators at FRP Advisory.
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