The food and drink sector team of Addleshaw Goddard has advised Bright Blue Foods (BBF) on the acquisition of a major cake and dessert business based in Hull, from Greencore.
The combined business will have an expected turnover in excess of £140 million per annum, and employ more than 2,000 people across five sites.
BBF was acquired by private equity firm, Endless, in 2015, and produces own-label, licensed and branded products, including mince pies and Swiss rolls, supplying retailers across the UK and Europe.
The Addleshaw Goddard team was led by corporate partner Duncan Wilson, and included Katie Parker, Rebekah Fisher, Dominic McLean, Michelle Headridge, Bruce Kilpatrick, Sarah Persky, Andy Graham, Rachel Uttley, Andrew Steer, Rachael Norris and Mark Guttridge.
In Leeds, Addleshaw Goddard recently announced the appointment of corporate lawyer Richard Hunt as partner.
Hunt joined Addleshaw Goddard from Squire Patton Boggs, where he was head of the Leeds corporate team advising on all aspects of mergers and acquisitions (M&A).
He recently advised the shareholders of Poundworld Retail Holdings on the sale to US private equity firm TPG Capital, a deal valued at £150 million.
Yunus Seedat, managing partner of the Addleshaw Goddard corporate division, said: “Richard is a significant and exciting hire. He is an established name in the Yorkshire market, known and respected by the whole community with a great transactional record and stellar client following. His appointment alongside Pete Wood and the existing five-strong Addleshaw Goddard corporate partner team, provides a market leading capability to attract and resource a greater share of corporate work locally as well as from across the UK.”
“We want to be, to the extent we aren’t already, the first choice for every significant mandate in the local Yorkshire market and so we are delighted that Richard and Pete were sufficiently persuaded by our track record and ambition, both in Corporate, and more generally across the business, to want to join the team.”
Addleshaw Goddard’s Leeds-based corporate practice completed 40-plus deals in 2017 with a combined value in excess of £2 billion, including several of the market’s largest and highest profile assignments.
