ORBIS ADVISE THE UNSWORTH FAMILY ON ITS MAJOR INVESTMENT IN GEARY’S BAKERIES

BUSINESS OVERVIEW

Orbis Partners acted as advisers to the Unsworth family on their majority investment in Geary’s Bakeries Limited (“Geary’s”). Orbis worked exclusively with the Unsworth family over an 18-month period, to originate and invest in high-quality food manufacturing businesses. Geary’s was identified as a superior investment opportunity due to the Company’s reputation supplying award-winning artisan breads and its unique market position.

Geary’s was established in 1906 and has remained family-run throughout four generations. The business recently received £15m of investment in 2018 to support the development of a new, purpose-built factory in Leicester to keep pace with the exponential growth demand of its biggest customer, Aldi. Geary’s introduced the now-famous bloomer to the category and supply a range of award-winning loaves and sourdough breads to supermarket retailers as well as food manufacturers.

The Unsworth Family previously owned and ran the Aimia Foods business prior to selling to Cott Corporation in 2014. Gary and Ian Unsworth founded the Aimia Foods business in 1981, whilst Gary’s son Rob ran the business as Managing Director from 2008.

As part of the deal, owner Jason Geary retained a significant equity stake within Geary’s’, remaining as a Managing Director.

With their experience in the food and consumer sector, Orbis identified a number of high-quality businesses with the attributes we were looking for. Geary’s is a fantastic investment opportunity due to its focus on quality artisan products and Jason’s ambitious plans for the company. We are excited to work with Jason and the team at Geary’s to help continue the business’ growth.

Rob Unsworth, Former Managing Director of Aimia Foods, who will take on the role of Chairman at Geary’s

OUR ROLE

Orbis worked with the Unsworth family over an extended period to identify high-quality manufacturing businesses that fit the family’s investment criteria. With regards to the Geary’s investment we:

Approached Geary’s to introduce the Unsworth family and understand Jason Geary’s appetite for investment
Attended meetings with the Unsworth family to better understand Geary’s and the potential opportunity
Structured an offer for the business taking into account the key requirements of the Unsworth family and the aspirations of the owner Jason
Led on the finance raise, working with Geary’s to produce a business plan and detailed financial forecasts to present to various funders
Liasied with funders to negotiate the best funding package available
Helped to negotiate the key commercial aspects of the legal documents
Project managed the deal to completion, leading on all financial and commercial negotiations