Vegetarian Express are delighted to announce that private equity firm NVM have successfully completed a new investment, acquiring majority shareholder status from their previous private equity owners, Bridges Fund Management.
The Watford-based business, specialises in providing high quality, plant-based ingredients, ideas and inspiration to chefs across the UK. Strong ESG credentials have helped fuel the company’s growth, and under the leadership of Managing Director, Dave Webster, the company became the UK’s first foodservice business to achieve B Corp status in 2019.
Dave Webster, Managing Director of Vegetarian Express said “The management team and I are incredibly proud of what we’ve delivered in the last seven years, which has seen the professionalisation of Vegetarian Express into the UK’s leading plant-based category specialist to the foodservice sector. For the next stage of our growth journey, we’re excited to be partnering with private equity firm NVM. NVM’s backing will enable us to scale faster and help even more customers get brilliant-plant-based food on their menus.”
NVM is independently owned with 40 years’ experience of investing in the UK SME market. They are a generalist investor differentiated by having executives living and working in regional business communities throughout the UK. They invest into UK based businesses requiring equity investment of between £10 million and £20 million and are actively seeking to both identify and support ambitious management teams realise the potential in the businesses they run.
Mauro Biagioni, Investment Partner of NVM said “Both Alex and I are pleased to complete this investment backing Dave and the team on the next phase of their growth journey. The business is a true category specialist, with an excellent reputation for its extensive range of high-quality authentic products. ESG is at the heart of the business, and with new investment, a highly experienced management team and its reputation for outstanding customer service, Vegetarian Express is well positioned for considerable future growth.”
Vegetarian Express was previously owned by private equity firm, Bridges Fund Management, the specialist sustainable and impact investor, which invested in the business in late 2016. Since that time, Vegetarian Express has expanded significantly, more than doubling revenues and delivering positive environmental impact: during Bridges’ period of ownership, Vegetarian Express has averted an estimated c.15,000 tonnes of CO2e as a result of its products directly replacing meat or dairy products.
Emma Thorne, Partner at Bridges, said “We invested in Vegetarian Express because we believed there was a clear commercial and impact opportunity in helping consumers reduce their meat consumption by switching to plant-based meals. In Vegetarian Express, we identified a best-in-class provider with strong growth potential that also shared our values. The business has grown substantially over the course of our investment, diversifying its offering, expanding its own-brand range and launching its unique Seed-bank tool for chefs. We’re really proud of the growth and impact it has achieved, and wish its outstanding team all the best for the future.”
-ENDS-
For further information please contact:
Hospitality industry: Clare Twiss (Vegetarian Express: Head of Marketing & Category) claretwiss@vegexp.co.uk
Financial Services: Katy Horrocks (NVM: Marketing Director) katy.horrocks@nvm.co.uk
Vegetarian Express – the original plant-based foodies. We’ve been shouting about how delicious vegan and vegetarian food is since 1987 and no one knows plant-based better than us. We specialise in delivering plant-based ingredients, ideas and inspiration to chefs across the UK. Being solely dedicated to plant-based food we are uniquely placed in Foodservice to help customers capitalise on the rise in demand for plant-based, vegetarian and flexitarian dishes. We partner with our customers to create enticing plant-based menus that are better for consumers’ health, the planet and commercially for their businesses. We are proud to be a certified B Corporation. This means we are part of a growing number of progressive businesses around the world that believe in the power of business to do good things and, more importantly, are doing something about it. https://vegetarianexpress.co.uk/pages/b-corp.
NVM Private Equity (“NVM”) - NVM is independently owned with 40 years’ experience of investing in the UK SME market. We are a generalist investor differentiated by having executives living and working in regional business communities throughout the UK. We invest into UK based businesses requiring equity investment of between £10 million and £20 million and are actively seeking to both identify and support ambitious management teams realise the potential in the businesses they run. The teams we back may be looking to grow organically, acquire another business or secure a management buy-out. For more information, please visit https://nvm.co.uk/.
About Bridges Fund Management
Bridges Fund Management is a specialist sustainable and impact investor, focused exclusively on the transition to a more sustainable and inclusive economy. Its private equity funds target sectors where there is a clear positive correlation between commercial and impact performance, investing in growth companies with the potential to achieve attractive financial returns alongside positive social and environmental impact. Founded in 2002, Bridges has now raised over £1.7bn across its platform of property, private equity, and outcomes strategies. https://bridgesfundmanagement.com.
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