CapVest-owned Inspired Pet Nutrition has struck a deal to buy Butcher’s Pet Care to create a petfood group with sales of more than £350m.
The deal represents a significant scaling up of CapVest’s pet platform, bringing together the leading makers of wet and dry petfood.
It follows The Grocer revealing last month that the London-headquartered PE firm was the last remaining party in the long-running Butcher’s auction run by investment bank Houlihan Lokey.
Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
IPN also announced it intended to appoint Arthur van Benthem as CEO of the enlarged group to lead an ambitious overseas growth strategy.
He has extensive experience working with management teams and private equity owners to grow and develop international businesses. With a background in sales and marketing, van Benthem has held executive leadership roles across several markets in EMEA, the US and the Asia Pacific region with the likes of Unilever, Coca-Cola, Royal FrieslandCampina, Imperial Brands and, most recently, Dunlop.
“Butcher’s brand portfolio and business is highly complementary to IPN and consistent with our vision and strategy to expand the business and create a portfolio of natural, wet and dry petfood brands with superior nutrition, which is affordable and accessible to all pet owners,” van Benthem said.
“Strategically, it also provides us with an established platform and opportunity to expand our presence in the growing European petfood market.”
CapVest senior partner Kate Briant added: “Butcher’s is a great addition to the IPN platform, creating a business of greater scale and presence across a range of categories, channels and customer segments.
“It also creates a solid platform to pursue further organic and acquisition-led growth, with a particular focus on Europe, and we are delighted to have a CEO of Arthur van Benthem’s calibre ready to lead this plan with his extensive brand, financial, strategy and leadership experience.”
Family-owned Butcher’s was founded by Graham Baker in 1987 in Northamptonshire. Today it generates annual revenues of around £140m and has a growing market overseas, served by its factory in Poland.
It makes wet dog and catfood products under three brands: Butcher’s, Blink and Classic.
Butcher’s CEO Tim Watsham said: “Joining forces with IPN and CapVest is a fantastic opportunity for Butcher’s.
“Together, we share a passion for providing the best nutrition for pets and a commitment to excellence. We look forward to leveraging IPN and CapVest’s resources and expertise to pursue our growth ambitions and continue delivering high-quality products to our customers.”
IPN is headquartered in North Yorkshire and best known for its natural dog meals and pet treats under the Harringtons and Wagg brands.
CapVest acquired the business in a £250m deal in 2020 and subsequently picked up Pet Food UK in 2021 to add the Barking Heads and Meowing Heads brands to the portfolio.
Completion of the Butcher’s deal is expected to take place in the fourth quarter of 2024.
IPN was advised by Raymond James and Harris Williams. The shareholders of Butcher’s were advised by Houlihan Lokey.
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