(L-R) The Soho Sandwich Company managing director Daniel Silverston, Around Noon Foods CEO Gareth Chambers, and Around Noon Chairman Howard Farquhar, announce the deal in London.  2100x1400

Source: Around Noon Foods

(L-R) The Soho Sandwich Company managing director Daniel Silverston, Around Noon Foods CEO Gareth Chambers, and Around Noon Chairman Howard Farquhar, announce the acquisition deal in London.

Food to go manufacturer Around Noon Foods has acquired London-based The Soho Sandwich Company.

The deal between the fellow food to go businesses is said to create an enlarged group with 800 employees and annual revenue of over £80m.

The Soho Sandwich Company brings more than 300 staff to the new Around Noon Group, as well as a state-of-the-art production facility in North London, and a range of new blue-chip clients. It will continue to operate under its own brand and service its existing multi-sector portfolio of customers across foodservice, retail, events and hospitality.

Around Noon Foods CEO Gareth Chambers said the acquisition will cement the group’s position as a leading national supplier of premium food to go products. “We’ve been admirers of The Soho Sandwich Company for some time,” Chambers revealed.

“The business has a strong reputation for quality, excellence and innovation. This represents a fantastic opportunity for all involved due to the incredible alignment in terms of our values and core purpose,” added Chambers.

The Soho Sandwich Company was founded as a small coffee shop in North London more than 23 years ago. It currently supplies more than 15 million sandwiches per year to retailers nationwide.

Daniel Silverston, who will remain in his role as Soho’s managing director, described Around Noon as “one of the most innovative and exciting food to go companies in the UK”, adding that the acquisition was a “huge win” for the business.

“There are great synergies in terms of ambition and culture and the move is extremely beneficial, for our team and our customers,” Silverston added.

Around Noon was founded in Newry, Northern Ireland over 30 years ago, and presently produces an extensive range of chilled, hot, and frozen bakery products from five manufacturing sites in the UK and Ireland. Last year, it secured a contract with M&S to supply sandwiches to stores across the island of Ireland.

Around Noon chairman Howard Farquhar said the deal would enable scale and growth and “move the business closer to its £100m revenue target”, noting that it marked the third acquisition since he and Chambers completed a management buyout in 2016.

The company completed its latest acquisition with support from Barclays Bank, and was advised by 3Volution, Sentio Partners, KPMG and Parisi Tax. The Soho Sandwich company was advised on the deal by Sherrards and WMT.