Profits at Pukka Pies took a hit last year as the group explored a potential £100m sale process.
Family-owned Pukka hired bankers at Houilhan Lokey - as revealed by The Grocer - to weigh up strategic options, but the process didn’t result in a sale.
Advisory fees of £1.6m contributed to a 59% fall in operating profits to £2.7m in the year to 25 May 2024, newly filed accounts revealed.
EBITDA also declined from £9.2m in FY23 to £7m as Pukka opted to absorb price rises on energy and labour rather than pass them on to retail partners.
The company said it wanted to “assess the mid to long-term implications from the underlying inflation, but has since concluded that higher sales prices are inevitable over the next 12 months”.
Pukka’s turnover continued to grow in 2023/24, climbing 7.8% to £85.3m. This was driven by new product launches, an expanding customer base, improved distribution, and continued success in both retail and out-of-home, said Pukka CEO Isaac Fisher.
Fisher was promoted from MD to CEO in May last year to spearhead a five-year growth plan after the Storer family decided to retain ownership of Pukka rather than sell the brand.
As part of the strategic review at the group, Pukka underwent a corporate restructure and created a new parent company. Pukka Pies Properties Ltd was also inserted into the group structure, with the land and buildings where the bakery is based transferred across to the company.
Pukka said that despite the drop in profits in the year, it was “satisfied…given the long-term benefit which will be derived from the recent corporate restructure”.
Fisher added after last year’s strategic review, Pukka reaffirmed its commitment to remaining family-owned, “making significant investments to enhance production efficiency and expand our market-leading facilities to future-proof the business for growing demand”.
“We also undertook a successful restructuring to ensure we are set up in the best way to deliver our ambitious growth trajectory.”
Business has boomed at Leicestershire-headquartered Pukka in recent years as the pie maker pushed harder on the grocery retail side of operations, alongside its traditional place at football stadiums and fish & chip shops around the country.
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