Parent company of bakery chain Gail’s set to be acquired in £200m deal

Bain Capital Credit has reportedly agreed a deal to acquire Bread Holdings, the parent company of bakery chain Gail’s, in a deal which is thought to value the company at over £200 million. The deal will see Bain take a controlling stake in the firm alongside EBITDA Investments, a fund established to acquire food sector businesses.

The sale comes after one of the firm’s majority shareholders, Risk Capital Partners (the private equity vehicle of leading hospitality investor Luke Johnson) hired Nomura to run an auction for Bread Holdings earlier this year. Through the sale, Johnson’s stake will reportedly roll over to around 15 per cent.

In its most recent reports at Companies House, for the year ending February 29 2020, Bread Holdings reported group revenue of £116.4 million, with post-tax profits of £2.2 million. Of this, the Gail’s subsidiary contributed £61 million in turnover and £1.9 million in post-tax profits.

Gail’s has performed strongly despite the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced stores to close or operate takeaway-only services for significant periods of time. The company’s revenue in the current financial year is expected to exceed pre-pandemic performance, with profitability forecast to hit record levels in the year to February 2022.

Gail’s was founded in Hampstead, North London in 2005 and now has close to 70 outlets, the majority of which are in London, with further locations in areas including Brighton and Oxford. Over the next three years, the business, which specialises in artisanal baked goods and coffee prepared in-store, plans to expand its presence to over 100 outlets.


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