Pasta King
NBGI Private Equity acquired a majority stake in this £13 million MBI.
NBGI Private Equity backed the £13 million management buy in of Pasta King in November 2009. The business was acquired from its incumbent management and Matrix Private Equity Partners.
Pasta King is based in Newton Abbot, Devon, and provides meal solutions comprising mostly pasta with fresh sauces. The meals are served hot from “pasta bars” that are loaned out free-of-charge to the customer base. As a healthy and tasty food offering, Pasta King has become very popular in secondary schools nationwide; it satisfies Governmental standards on salt, fat, fibre and vegetable content that were mandatorily imposed on all food served in schools from September 2009. As such, it provides a quick, convenient, off-the-shelf solution for caterers faced with an ever narrowing choice of menu options to offer to students.
NBGI Private Equity backed Howard Farquhar and Mike Cole as Pasta King’s new Managing Director and Chairman respectively. They formed the cornerstone of the management team of NBGI Private Equity's successful investment in Brambles Foods, a sandwich manufacturer, which generated an internal rate of return of 51% p.a.
The deal is the fifth for NBGI Private Equity’s £100million second fund. Richard Morley and Richard Babington led the transaction for NBGI Private Equity supported by Miles Otway.
