HURST advises as food group beefs up portfolio with Binghams acquisition

A team at HURST Corporate Finance has advised Panicium, a buy-and-build artisan speciality food group, on its latest acquisition.

Panicium has bought Sheffield-based Binghams Food Limited for an undisclosed sum.

The deal follows Panicium’s acquisition in 2018 of Margaret Hall, a handmade cakes and biscuits producer which operates under the Margaret’s Country Kitchen brand.

Ben Bradley and Lauren Roberts of HURST Corporate Finance advised Panicium on the Binghams deal. Nigel Brown at Gateley provided legal advice to Panicium. Specialist lender Shawbrook Bank provided a commercial loan facility to support the acquisition.

Binghams is a specialist potted meat and fresh spreads producer founded by Charles Bingham in 1914 selling products from home.

The company now sells more than four million items a year, supplying a well-established network of retailers, distributors and sandwich shops across the UK.

All of its potted meats are made using selected high-quality cuts of British beef and pork and are cooked from recipes which go back 100 years.

Ben Bradley said: “Panicium’s latest acquisition complements the group’s strategy of consolidating successful family-owned artisan food producers and distributors in becoming a leading UK specialist food group.

“The group remains highly acquisitive and we look forward to working with management on the pipeline of targeted food brands with support from Shawbrook Bank.”

Graham Norfolk, one of Panicium’s founding directors, said: “Binghams makes artisan, high-quality, delicious products with a distinctive brand. The products are primarily sold in retail outlets across Yorkshire, the north west, the north east and the East Midlands.

“There is a clear opportunity within the Panicium group to extend both the market reach and the product range, and to build upon 100 years of tradition.”

Peter Moon, managing director of Binghams, said: “Having steadily grown our sales over the last five years, Binghams is poised for step-change growth and will benefit from the investment and market extension available through Panicium.

“Although our product range is different to Margaret Hall, we share a number of routes to market and, ultimately, our products are consumed by people who love artisan, quality food.

“We look forward to working with the Margaret Hall team to develop Panicium’s position as a leading supplier of quality foods.”

Peter Fields, also a Panicium director, said: “We are delighted to expand our group and welcome aboard Binghams. With an impressive heritage, strong roots in Sheffield and a well-known reputation for producing high-quality products, we are excited to take the business forward on its growth journey with the support of Shawbrook.”

Shawbrook was introduced to the transaction by Ben Bradley.

Daniel Martin, senior director in Shawbrook’s  north west corporate lending team, said: “We’re very pleased to support Panicium’s strategy and further growth by delivering the funding needed to support the acquisition. By listening carefully to their vision, we quickly recognised the potential opportunities that could be unlocked with this pivotal moment in the growth journeys of both Panicium and Binghams.

“An exciting future certainly lies ahead.”