We are pleased to report the publication of a book, ‘Intervention in the UK Brewing Industry’, written by John Spicer, Chris Thurman, John Walters and Simon Ward reviewing the circumstances leading up to the 1986-9 Monopolies and Mergers Commission inquiry into the UK brewing Industry.
In 1989 the Thatcher Government passed legislation that would radically change the nature of brewing and pub retailing, and which, indeed, constituted the most far-reaching intervention in private industry seen in post nationalisation Britain. Beginning with the great brewery mergers of the 1950’s and 1960’s, and then the series of early official attempts to regulate and reform the industry, this book covers the 1986-1989 MMC inquiry, including the agitation for change – by no means discouraged by the Office of Fair Trading – on the part of one major brewer and the Campaign for Real Ale. It describes the parliamentary revolt and potential clash with European law that forced the Government to dilute the Commission’s recommendations: the major brewers’ rejection of the new business model that had been imposed on them; and the resulting disintegration of the industry and the acquisition of most of it by foreign companies. Finally the authors assess the damaging repercussions for consumers and pub licensees, and attempts to draw lessons from this landmark event.
John Spicer, one of the authors, is an Adviser to Oghma Partners LLP. John has been associated with the drinks industry for most of his career, first at Whitbread and then in the City, where for nearly a decade he was rated number one drinks sector analyst. In 1993 he served as Special Adviser to the Parliamentary Agriculture Select Committee during its inquiry into the Beer Orders, and in 2001 as an expert witness in a trial concerning the beer tie.
Please click here for a link to further information and the order form, should you wish to purchase the book. The full press release can be found here.
Oghma Partners LLP, the Consumer Sector focused corporate finance boutique, is pleased to announce the publication of its review of disposals and acquisitions in the UK Food & Beverage Sector in 2011 and the outlook for 2012.
Key findings of the review include; a fall in value in 2011 but a rise in the volume of deals including a pick-up in volume and value through the last third of the year.
Valuation: despite the challenging trading and economic climate – the data for exit multiples suggest that the multiple paid for businesses was broadly in line with that of 2011.
Outlook: whilst the macro environment remains far from benign there are signs that the appetite of buyers remains robust. There appears a split between the ‘have’s and the have-not’s’ in the sector i.e. those with cash and those without. For the latter, disposal is the way to reduce debt and/or find working capital to grow the business. For those with cash, the current environment represents a significant opportunity for sector consolidation a ‘arguably a once in a generation opportunity’.
For further information please click here.
Oghma Partners LLP, the Food & Beverage focused corporate finance boutique, is pleased to announce a review of the UK produce sector and an analysis of M&A activity on a Pan-European basis.
Publication of the review of the Produce Sector is contained within Oghma’s latest Food & Beverage Sector M&A review. Publication of the review will take place the week of 16th January and interested parties are asked to email the address below for a copy.
The UK Produce sector is worth £12.5bn at RSP. Close to 100 companies operate in the UK market with activities ranging from value-added processing to distribution leveraging key sourcing skills. The size of the companies operating within the sector is broadly spread with 25%+ of the companies in the sector turning over more than £100mn.
On a Pan European basis there have been ten notable consolidators of the sector over the last five years. A significant amount of deal activity has been cross border and, given the still fragmented nature of the sector, more cross border deals can be expected in due course.
For further information please click here.
Oghma Partners has put together a short introduction to the UK Fruit and Vegetable distribution industry. For a copy, please contact us via this link
Oghma Partners LLP, the Food & Beverage focused corporate finance boutique, is pleased to announce the upcoming publication of its review of M&A activity in the UK food & beverage sector in 2011 and its review of the outlook for M&A in 2012.
Publication of the latest review will take place the week of 16th January and interested parties are asked to email the address below for a copy.
Highlights include a note that overseas buyers have declined as a percentage of transactions in 2011 whilst the proportion of transactions accounted for by UK buyers rose to 60% from below 40% in 2010. Activity from financial buyers was slightly down in the year.
For the full press release and further contact details please click here.
Oghma Partners LLP, the food & beverage focused corporate finance boutique, is pleased to release a further business guide for owner operators within the food and beverage industry.
The acquisition and disposal of businesses, particularly in the food and wider consumer sectors, continues unabated despite the current difficult economic climate in the UK and Europe. For the private company owner, quite often an unsolicited approach will come out of the blue and may be seen as either: a pleasant surprise; a distraction; or an annoyance. We review the methods of assessing an unsolicited approach and the various ways to respond to it. Dealt with correctly an approach, even if unwanted, could supply you with valuable intelligence; treated badly an approach could cost your business considerable amounts of time and you may unwittingly disclose commercially sensitive information.
Please click here for the full press release.
Oghma Partners LLP is pleased to announce its role as M&A advisor in relation to the acquisition of Windyridge Cheese Ltd. Windyridge Cheese is a Somerset based manufacturer of blended cheeses. The business has been successfully developed over a number of years by the current owners producing iconic blended cheese products such as ‘Afterburn’ , ‘Jalapeno Jack’ and ‘ Whisky and Ginger’. Mel Smith the former Managing Director of Windyridge will remain with the company in a consultancy role and day to day management will be taken over by Steve Molloy formerly Head of Operations at Ilchester Cheese Ltd. Steve is also Chairman of the acquiring company which is backed by private investor money.
The market for blended cheese represents an exciting opportunity for growth with sales at retail value of £200mn for cheese with additives and CAGR of 13% 2006-2009*. Steve Molloy commenting on the transaction stated, ‘We are very excited and pleased to be able to build on the hard work of Mel Smith and her team at Windyridge and believe that with Mel’s continued help and the introduction of additional resources that Windyridge will be well placed to work with its clients to exploit the opportunities in this growth segment of the cheese market.’
Please click here to see the attached press release for further information.
The September T2 M&A review compiled by Mark Lynch and Oghma Partners LLP is released this week.
Despite some sizeable deals over the past year or two in the food and beverage sector involving household names such as, Kraft, Unilever and Dairy Crest, activity in the UK appears to be slowing in the four months to end August, period on period. Therefore in this edition, the question of whether the latest M&A figures reflect growing concerns over weaknesses in the UK economy is analysed.
The role of Private Equity is also considered, with questions over sources of funding for deals in the current climate.
To order a copy of the review and see our analysis of the last months activity in more detail, please contact us using the form here
The latest edition of the Oghma Partners M&A Review will be released in mid-September. Please contact us to be added to the mailing list and receive your copy as soon as it is ready!
Oghma Partners LLP advises Greencore Group plc on the recommended £113 million cash offer for Uniq plc.
London – July 2011
Oghma Partners LLP is pleased to announce its role as an advisor to Greencore Group plc in relation to the following transaction which was announced today:
£113 million Recommended Cash Offer by Greencore Foods Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Greencore Group plc for Uniq plc
For the full press release please click here.
