The Bury Black Pudding Company has been acquired by UK-based Panicium, a buy-and-build entity focused on the artisan food sector.
Suppling into retailers such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons, The Bury Black Pudding Company is Panicium’s third M&A transaction, which was struck for an undisclosed sum.
Panicium, which describes itself as an “artisan speciality food group”, counts Graham Norfolk as a director and founder. He is also a founder of Acorn Capital Partners, a corporate finance and investment house registered in the East Midlands county of Derbyshire.
“The primary strategic objective of the Panicium Group is to acquire companies in the UK artisan food sector to develop a portfolio of brands characterised by their hand-made, high-quality nature with a distinctly regional brand identity,” according to a statement.
Operating from a 25,400 square-foot factory in Bury, north-west England, The Bury Black Pudding Company was founded by Debbie Pierce and has a turnover of £11.5m ($14.6m). The business employs 122 people.
Pierce and her production director Richard Morris, who is also a business partner, will remain in place post-transaction and will become part of Panicium’s senior management team.
Norfolk said Panicium “would invest to further grow the newly-acquired company and build on its strong foundations by introducing new product ranges, increasing its market share and expanding and developing customer relationships”.
As well as traditional black puddings, The Bury Black Pudding Company also produces vegan, gluten-free and chilli varieties. The products are also supplied to the foodservice channel, wholesalers, hotels and butchers across the UK.
Pierce said: “Having steadily grown our sales and developed new business, Richard and I decided that it was time to start the next phase of business growth through becoming part of a group that is committed to the quality of its products and maintaining the family values of which we are so proud.
“Our product range is complementary to the Panicium strategy and we share a number of routes to market.”
Panicium was set up in 2018, the same year it acquired Margaret Hall, which trades under the Margaret’s Country Kitchen brand of indulgent bakery products.
Binghams Food, a potted meats and spreads manufacturer, became Panicium’s second deal in 2021.
