Baked goods manufacturer Carrs Foods is to ramp up its international presence after securing a £6.7m investment.
The business has also rebranded as St Pierre Groupe, and appointed former Tyrrells chief executive David Milner as non-executive chairman.
St Pierre Groupe’s turnover was £69m in 2018, and is forecast to double in the next three years to £150m by 2020. Its products are stocked in 20,000 stores internationally, with 60% of its distribution in the US.
In addition to fuelling growth and enabling the business to increase its penetration in existing markets, the investment would also fund expansion in digital channels and new product development, said the firm.
“Both the new investment and the appointment of a chairman of David’s stature, gives us a great opportunity to meet our targets and continue growing at a significant pace,” said St Pierre Groupe founder Jeremy Gilboy.
“We’ve worked hard to be where we are today, having grown from being a British family-run company into a fast-growing global bakery business.”
St Pierre Groupe said the appointment of Milner would give it the experience and expertise to expand the global reach of its portfolio, which includes the St Pierre, Baker Street and Paul Hollywood brands.
Milner was CEO of crisps and snack brand Tyrrells for six years, and led the business to its acquisition by US firm Amplify Snacks for £300m in 2016.
“I am thrilled to be part of the St Pierre Groupe journey,” said Milner. “I recognise many similarities in its working practices with those we adopted at Tyrrells.
“Here at St Pierre Groupe, we have a quality product in a market desperate for supply. The company’s growth in the past decade has been genuinely exciting and the international expansion and new product development gives us huge scope to go to the next level.”
The funding has been made by investment group BGF and partner Lloyds Bank, facilitated by accounting and consulting firm Grant Thornton.
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