Ministry of Cake stake sold to French firm

The west country-based manufacturer produces more than 3M slices of hand-finished cakes, puddings and desserts every week. Customers include major restaurant, pub and coffee shop chains.

Ministry of Cake chief executive Chris Ormrod said Mademoiselle Desserts was “a perfect strategic fit”​ for the business. “Its international presence and wide distribution network will help turbocharge our growth plans as we look to expand our operations both at home and overseas.”  ​

LDC funded a management buyout of the business from Greencore Group in May 2014 with an investment strategy designed to deliver major growth across all channels of the business.

The business subsequently acquired The Creative Foods factory in Torquay, with additional LDC investment. The new site, which opened in September 2014, increased production capacity by 30%, and enabled the launch of a new tray bake range for the catering, foodservice and wholesale markets.

Number of employees grew from 300 to 400​

Ministry of Cake revenues increased from £20M to almost £30M, while the number of employees grew from 300 to 400.

During the same period, export sales rose by 10% following contract wins in new markets such as Europe, Turkey, Russia and the Middle East.

The deal will result in Ministry of Cake continuing to operate as an autonomous business in the Mademoiselle Desserts group.

The French-owned manufacturer makes cakes and desserts for the European foodservice industry. In addition to its French sites, Mademoiselle Desserts operates facilities in Corby and Maidenhead.

Mademoiselle Desserts chief executive Didier Boudy said Ministry of Cake was a perfect addition to the group.

‘Foodservice customers’​

Combined with its other UK sites – The Handmade Cake Company in Maidenhead and Mademoiselle Desserts Corby – the combined business had an “unrivalled state of the art production capability dedicated to our foodservice customers”, ​he claimed.

“While integrating into the group, and using all the resources and synergies, Ministry of Cake will continue to operate from Taunton and Torquay as an autonomous business unit,”​ added Boudy.

“The Ministry of Cake team became shareholders in Mademoiselle Desserts and will stay in place and continue running the business. Gérard Verdino, UK chairman of the Mademoiselle Desserts Group, will coordinate the activity of the three Mademoiselle Desserts British businesses.”​