Leading Wholesaler & Distributor of Snack Foods and Healthy Options
Ref.AF060 Location South EastAsking Price 530,000Confidential offered for sale | |
Asking price includes:
Sales of circa £1.36 million in the 2005/6 financial year
Gross margins of 30%
Strong and well established brand within the snack sector
Comprehensive range of high quality, tasty, individually wrapped, ambient, long life snacks
Reputation for high quality product and excellent customer service
Extensive, established and growing customer base
Excellent supplier relationships
Strong administrative systems
Superb opportunities to grow
Complete turnkey operation
Easy to manage operation
Training and handover
Re locatable business
Good profit margins
Sign-written vans
Goodwill
Stock
Staff | | Finance available to buy this business subject to status. All regulated business is passed to independent financial advisors who are regulated by the FSA | Business profile: | Established in 1995 and aimed very specifically at the rapidly growing, highly profitable, snack market this business specializes in a comprehensive range of high quality, tasty, individually wrapped, ambient, long life snacks including flapjacks, muffins, cakes, shortbreads, cookies, brownies and bags of snack foods - chocolate raisins, pistachios, Bombay mix etc. Many lines are particularly targeted at the health food market, containing less than 10% fat. This business also supplies a range of plain and flavoured bottle waters as well as orange juice and yoghurt drinks.
This company has grown considerably over the years and is now one of the leading independent, distributors of health and snack foods in the UK, regularly supplying in excess of 500 customers throughout England. Its customer base includes many independent retailers, contract caterers, leisure and sports centres, hospitals, universities and colleges and other public sector outlets including some extremely prestigious sites. It is one of the few licensed to supply NHS Trusts.
This business deals directly with the bakeries ensuring that its products are made from the finest, wholesome ingredients and can be supplied into the trade at a competitive price. With a strong corporate identity and products appearing under its own name the business has established itself as a brand in its own right with all of its products attractively packaged to generate high volume repeat sales. Utilising minimum shelf space and with a relatively long shelf life the products offer the retailer maximum profit with minimal risk and wastage.
This business prides itself in maintaining the highest possible service levels. It offers its products on a sale or return basis, taking back out of date produce and breaking down bulk orders into manageable order quantities – by volume and variety - at its distribution centre. Whilst dispatching some orders by national carriers it takes particular care to keep to its own delivery times as much as is humanly possible, having invested heavily in its own dedicated fleet of vehicles and a reliable team of regular drivers, enabling it to provide slot bookings for the large majority of its customers.
This is a very well managed, easy to run business. With turnover for the 2005/6 financial year of £1.369m generating a gross profit of £410,000 this represents an excellent opportunity to acquire a well known brand in the wholesale distribution of snack foods and healthy options.
Key strengths:
An established company, this business enjoys high levels of awareness across its sector. This business understands the importance of branding within its marketplace and has invested heavily in the past to establish a strong brand and a strong corporate identity consistently applied throughout all marketing and promotion. Not the cheapest in the marketplace, the brand is well known for its health food positioning, its wide range of product and quality of ingredients and excellent customer service. By dealing directly with the bakeries, the business is always able to control the high quality of its product.
Over the ten years of its operation this business has built up a base in excess of 500 customers spanning the public and private sectors and including contract catering, leisure, education and hospital customers as well as independent café and sandwich bars and including some very prestigious sites.
This business has strong management information systems and has been deliberately set up for ease of operation with goods coming in by the pallet load from a maximum of twenty suppliers, broken down into order quantities and dispatched to customers with the minimum of fuss.
Key opportunities:
There is an outstanding opportunity to build on the existing products and customer base of this company. With a strong demand for product, combined with a capacity to increase turnover, a new owner contributing fresh ideas and investment, particularly in sales resources will have every advantage of building on an excellent platform.
This business is ideally placed to leverage its established customer base and the investment it has made to date in its brand to extend its customer base well in excess of its current 500 or so customers. This business has yet to fully exploit the opportunities available to it and could certainly extend its penetration into the contract catering sector. Good commission based salesmen could also significantly increase this business’s presence within cafés and sandwich bars.
As well as not having reviewed its pricing policy recently, as far as the product range is concerned this business is perhaps under represented within the drinks sector and is constantly approached by its customers to extend its portfolio, with smoothies a particular area that would fit nicely within the current brand positioning and which is currently experiencing high demand.
Plant and equipment:
The business runs five liveried vans and owns the fork lift truck based in the distribution centre. | Premises:
The day-to-day management of the operation is undertaken from a home office environment and as such will need to be re-located.
The business currently rents a warehouse for the storage and dispatch of product at an annual cost of £16,712 including Rates. The premises are ideally located for easy access to the motorway network and its customer base across all parts of England.
The premises are leasehold with the lease due to expire in November 2007. It is understood, however, that a new lease can be negotiated or alternatively the distribution side of the business could also easily be re-located. | <>Marketing and advertising:
This business has in the past relied heavily on a direct sales approach. Not surprisingly, this business has concentrated its marketing activities primarily on supporting the trade at the point of sale through merchandising – baskets, stands etc and product sampling, demonstrations etc. Similarly the business responds very positively to requests for samples from potential new accounts.
As a strong brand within its sector, the business enjoys high levels of word of mouth recommendations and has found that its very impressive Client list which includes a wide range of well known names and prestigious sites is its best form of advertising.
The business would benefit from a well designed and informative web presence.
IT systems:
The business is fully computerized, utilizing Sage for its financial management. | | | Financial profile: | The business is offered for sale as a going concern. All financial discussions will take place directly between the vendor and all interested parties under the auspices of Turner Butler.
The business is financially stable with low overheads, positive cash flow, good gross and net profit and has shown a consistent financial performance throughout its ten years of operation.
Sales revenue for the 2005/6 financial year was £1.369m generating gross margins of 30% and pre-tax net operating profits in excess of £121,000.
The vendor feels that with investment, particularly in sales resources combined with the increase in market demand this business is currently enjoying, the business could dramatically increase its revenues and profitability.
The Asking Price of £530,000 is based on a share sale. | Employees:
The Owners are responsible for the day-to-day management of the business supported by a Sales Director/General Manager and a part time Bookkeeper and Administrative Assistant. In addition there is a warehouseman, four delivery drivers who are also responsible for collecting cash with their deliveries, together with part-time packers, all operating from the distribution centre. | Support and training:
The current owner will provide all necessary training and all relevant contacts to ensure a smooth transfer of the business to new Owners. | Reason for sale:
This is a genuine retirement sale. | | Turner Butler Disclosure Statement: This statement applies to information relating to any company or other undertaking or business advertised for sale by Turner Butler (a 'Business') The information supplied by Turner Butler on its website or in any other promotional material ('the Information') is not and is not intended to constitute an offer for sale of the Business or any assets of the Business or of the shares of any company which owns the Business. For the avoidance of doubt there is no intention to create a legal relationship which will only come into existence when a written contract for sale and purchase of the shares in or the Business has been entered into The Information provided is not intended to address your particular requirements. Further the Information does not constitute any form of advice recommendation representation endorsement or arrangement by Turner Butler and is not intended to be relied upon in making (or refraining from making) any specific decisions. Any agreements transactions or other arrangements made between you and any client of Turner Butler are at your sole risk and responsibility. The prospective sellers of the Business have provided the Information to Turner Butler. The Information has not been verified by Turner Butler. You must carry out your own due diligence and satisfy yourself as to the accuracy of all matters. In the case of the sale of shares in a Business the Information has been prepared on the basis that the shares will consist of or include more than 50% of the voting shares and that both the seller and the buyer is either a body corporate, a partnership, a single individual or a group of connected individuals so as to fall outside the scope of regulated activities as defined by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. If you are considering a transaction which falls within the scope of such regulated activities you cannot do so through Turner Butler. Appropriate professional, legal and accountancy advice should be obtained before making or refraining to make any decision. Turner Butler does not accept any responsibility or liability for loss or damage of any nature that may occur by reliance on the Information. Neither Turner Butler nor any of our employees or agents makes any representation as to the completeness or accuracy of the Information nor do we accept any liability for any losses, costs, liabilities or expenses which may arise directly or indirectly from your use of, or reliance on the Information. This document is governed by and shall be construed in accordance with English Law and any dispute arising in connection with it shall be subject to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts Turner & Co (GB) Limited registered in England and Wales under company no. 2477988 of registered office Savoy House Savoy Circus London W3 7DA, trading as Turner Butler © Shaun Sweeney October 2006 |
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