Sale of Gü to Exponent

DATE
May 2021

TRANSACTION TYPE
Trade Sale

VALUE
Undisclosed

SECTOR
Food & Beverage

Spayne Lindsay & Co is delighted to announce that it has advised Noble Foods on the sale of Gü to Exponent.

Gü is the clear leader in the UK chilled desserts market. Its restaurant-quality desserts are much loved by consumers and have led the growth of the premium segment for retailers. In recent years, it has expanded into new and growing categories such as Free-From. Gü also has a strong and growing presence in France and Germany.

Noble Foods acquired the brand in 2010 and has supported its growth over the last ten years, including by investing in a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Bishop’s Stortford which opened in 2018. Last year it drove the brand to the top spot in the chilled dessert category, with retail sales value up +25% YoY to more than £69m – the second consecutive year Gü achieved double digit growth. Growth has been underpinned by continued product innovation, which has seen the business grow its range of Cheesecakes, Mousse and Hot Puds. Its newest range – Gü Inspirations, based on bakery favourites – was successfully launched earlier this year and there is a large pipeline of further products already in development.

Duncan Everett, CEO of Noble Foods, commented:

“We were delighted to work with Spayne Lindsay throughout the sale process of Gü. Shaun Brownell and his team did a first-class job and were instrumental in finding an excellent new owner of Gü.”

Pete Utting, Managing Director of Gü, commented:

“We have been working with Shaun Brownell and the team for almost a year and their guidance, support and professionalism has led us to an excellent investor in Exponent and the management team are delighted we can continue to deliver our plan of building a global indulgence brand. The process was run incredibly efficiently from start to finish and it included helping us shape the strategic plan, giving us time to still run the business and managing all the other essential third parties. Ultimately delivering a great result for the Noble shareholders.”