Management takes over natural ingredients firm
The £55M-turnover business was founded by John Uren in 1895 and was, until the MBO, owned by five, third-generation members of the family.
The company supplies fruit, vegetables, nuts, honey, purees and juices to food manufacturers in more than 30 countries.
Major global brands
Uren’s produce can be found in yoghurts, desserts, spreads and confectionery made by major global brands.
It employs 250 staff globally, has factories in Poland and Chile, and sales offices in China, France, Serbia and the US.
The company, founded by John Uren in 1895, was until the MBO owned by five, third-generation family members.
The management team, which completed the buyout for an undisclosed sum, is led by md Ross Stewart and includes fellow long-serving directors Julian Wood and Paul Jones.
Nigel Barratt, head of Hurst Corporate Finance, advised the shareholders on the sale of their majority stake. Hurst’s Liz Gallagher provided tax advice.
“We turned to Hurst to advise us on the next steps, as we are all getting older and there are no longer any family members working in the business,” said Andrew Uren Evans, Uren’s outgoing chairman.
‘Long-term certainty’
“The MBO team provides the business with long-term certainty and we wish Ross and the team well.”
Stewart said: “We believe we have the right company structure, financial backing and management team to allow us to embark on an exciting new period of growth.”
Barratt added: “We worked closely with the shareholders at Uren throughout an extremely lengthy and complex process. I am delighted that we managed to secure the right deal for them and the other parties involved.”
Barclays Bank provided acquisition and working capital facilities to the management team. The family’s legal advisers were Mark Rathbone and David Seddon, of Brabners. Phil Whitehurst led a team at law firm Hillyer McKeown who advised the MBO team.
