Walker Morris has advised Real Good Food on the sale of Haydens Bakery to a subsidiary of Bakkavor Group for £12 million.
Real Good Food focuses on cake decoration (Renshaw and Rainbox Dust Colours), food ingredients (R W Scott and Brighter Foods) and premium bakery (Chantilly Patisserie).
Haydens Bakery has been part of Real Good Food since the group’s inception in 2003 and produces premium tarts, pies and crumbles, Danish pastries, sweet buns, yum yums, and doughnuts, and sells principally to major retail customers.
The disposal “marks an important next step in the restructuring and performance improvement of Real Good Food and is line with our turnaround plan for the group”, explained chief executive Hugh Cawley.
Cawley said: “Given the sizeable areas of common interest, we believe that Haydens and its staff will prosper better in partnership with Bakkavor.”
Specialist lawyers from the Walker Morris food and drink team advised Real Good Food. The team was led by corporate partner Richard Naish, and supported by Simon Cuerden, Adrian Moss and Marianne McKeown (corporate); Michael Taylor and Joshua Waddington (banking); Andrew Rayment and Suzanne Treen (employment); Nicola Parkinson (tax); and Andrew Maclean (real estate).
Naish of Walker Morris added: “We are delighted to have been able to advise Real Good Food on this key disposal. We have worked closely with Real Good Food in recent months, having advised them on a whitewash under Rule 9 of the Takeover Code, an open offer to shareholders and the sale of Garrett Ingredients to Kent Foods.”
In July, corporate lawyers at Walker Morris advised Real Good Food on a proposed open offer to raise up to approximately £1 million.
