£43.0m investment in best-in-class nutrition bar formulation and production capability
FY 2022 impact for THG of c. £20.0m revenues and c. £6.5m adjusted EBITDA, post c. £3.0m of cost synergies
THG PLC (“THG” or the “Group”), the proprietary technology platform specialising in taking brands direct to consumers (“D2C”), has conditionally agreed to acquire Brighter Foods Limited (“Brighter”), a specialist developer and manufacturer of snack bars, from Real Good Food plc for £43.0m, payable in cash.
The acquisition of Brighter enables THG to bring in-house decades of product know-how and innovative resource in the formulation and production of high quality, healthier snack bars. Brighter develops and manufactures for globally pre-eminent confectionery, wellness and breakfast food brands and has already reformulated the majority of THG Nutrition’s bar range, underpinning the c. £3.0m cost synergy. The acquisition enables THG Nutrition to reduce lead-times for new product launches significantly, while ensuring product IP remains exclusive, and also delivers substantial cost synergies.
Financial Impact
- Subject to Real Good Food plc shareholder approval, THG has agreed to acquire Brighter for £43.0m on a cash and debt-free basis.
- The transaction is expected to complete on or around 11 May 2021.
- For the 12 months prior to March 2021, Brighter generated £19.8m in revenues and £3.7m adjusted EBITDA.
- The acquisition is not expected to be material to the Group’s near-term financial performance, and therefore guidance remains unchanged for FY 2021.
- For FY 2022, incremental revenue of c. £20.0m and adjusted EBITDA of c. £6.5m is expected.
THG is committed to investing in and building best-in-class BRC AA Grade product innovation and manufacturing facilities, in support of its THG Nutrition portfolio of global, digital-first brands including Myprotein, Myvegan, Myvitamins, Exante and Command. The acquisition of Brighter reflects a continuation of this vertical integration strategy, further enhancing the Group’s new product development and in-house manufacturing capabilities, complementing the acquisitions of nutrition product suppliers, Claremont Ingredients Limited (“Claremont”) and David Berryman Limited (“Berryman’s”) undertaken in December 2020.
Matthew Moulding, Executive Chairman and CEO of THG commented:
“We are delighted to announce our first major acquisition within THG Nutrition in 2021. Brighter highly complements our developed vertical integration strategy and strengthens our capabilities in the growing convenience and snack bar market. Nutritional bars are a high growth category for THG, with significant product extension opportunity across all our brands.
“The Brighter team bring a wealth of bar manufacturing and product development expertise, and in line with the Claremont and Berryman’s acquisitions, enables THG to significantly accelerate the launch of further product innovation into global markets, while increasing the proportion of THG Nutrition products wholly manufactured in-house.”