Food investment firm McWin Capital Partners is in talks to buy Gail’s Bakery, according to Bloomberg.
McWin Capital is already a backer of the bakery’s parent company and is looking to pre-empt a sale of the business, the report said.
Gail’s owners have reportedly hired Goldman Sachs to prepare an auction of the bakery chain, leading to speculation that it could be worth as much as £500m. Bain Capital has owned a majority stake in the business since 2021.
McWin Capital invests in companies “whose breakthroughs will accelerate the world’s food ecosystem transformation,” according to its website, with more than €1bn of assets under management.
It owns restaurant chains Sticks’n’Sushi and Big Mamma, as well as exclusive franchise agreements for Subway and Burger King in some European countries.
Gail’s Bakery grew revenue 32% in the past financial year, with total sales hitting £179.1m.
It now runs over 152 stores with another 35 due to open next year. The first Gail’s café opened in Hampstead in 2005.
The retail operation is an offshoot of The Bread Factory, a wholesaler that was set up in the early 1990s to supply high-end London restaurants. Gail’s is the fastest-growing and most profitable part of the group, with the wholesale business seeing sales of £83.7m last year.
Gail’s has grown to become a fixture of London’s wealthier high streets, triggering accusations that its presence is fuelling gentrification. Residents in Walthamstow in London staged a protest earlier this year against a new Gail’s outlet with a petition to “safeguard the soul of our beloved neighbourhood”.
No comments yet