FSN Capital III has signed an agreement to sell its majority shareholding in Lagkagehuset.
Lagkagehuset is the leading premium bakery chain with 66 stores in Denmark and a presence in the UK. The company operates a premium concept focusing on high-quality artisanal breads, cakes and pastries as well as other food, teas and coffee. Its attractive quality products and proven concept is based on a business model with own bakery production and a scalable roll-out strategy. The stores in the UK under the “Ole & Steen” brand are the first phase of an international roll out, proving that the business model is highly scalable.
After several years of significant growth in the Danish market, and a recent launch in London, Lagkagehuset is now well positioned for further internationalisation with Nordic Capital as the new owner of the company. Nordic Capital will acquire the entire FSN Capital’s majority shareholding in Lagkagehuset A/S. At the same time, Nordic Capital will also acquire the two founders, Ole Kristoffersen’s and Steen Skallebæk’s shares in Lagkagehuset.
“Nordic Capital has in recent years made several investments in the food industry and sees great potential in supporting Lagkagehuset in its further expansion. Lagkagehuset has a great customer-oriented concept that delivers quality products every day and has created strong preferences for consumers in Denmark. Following a recent launch in London, the next step is now to evaluate and develop a plan for further internationalisation where we will level further with Nordic Capitals industry expertise within the retail sector. Nordic Capital is looking forward to support Lagkagehuset’s continued development and expansion in partnership with the the company’s strong management team,” says Michael Haaning, Partner at NC Advisory A/S, advisor to the Nordic Capital Funds.
“We started with Ole and Steen and two stores. Today, eight years later, there are 68 stores in Denmark and two in London. Lagkagehuset is above all a fantastic company with a unique culture and quality products. The two stores in London are the first expansion beyond Denmark’s borders. There will be 200 employees in London before this year’s end, so it’s gone far beyond our expectations. Against this background, I can proudly look back on our ownership period,” says Thomas Broe-Andersen, Partner at FSN Capital, advisor to the FSN Capital Funds.
“We have had a really great cooperation with our owners FSN. We are looking forward to the new ownership and we are exited to have found a strong partner in Nordic Capital with both the experience, industry knowledge and capital to support us in our continued growth journey to bring Lagkagehuset to the rest of the world. We have amazing employees and products and we expect continued high growth in the coming years”, says Jesper Friis, CEO of Lagkagehuset
Lagkagehuset has over the last couple of years professionalised the fresh bakery industry and has taken its concept international as a response to the increasing public focus on healthy quality food products. The Lagkagehuset chain has a high degree of flexibility of concept, ranging from large traditional bakery to smaller urban food-to-go outlets. Lagkagehuset’s business model which enables high quality at scale, has along with its strong brand and modern retail concept, been highly successful in the Danish market where the company now has 68 stores. The company reported revenues of DKK 665 million in 2016 and a total of 1,800 employees. The company grew by 20 per cent in 2016.
The parties have agreed not to disclose the financial terms of the transaction.
The investment is subject to approval by the relevant authorities.