Nisbets founder cooks up £450m windfall from sale to Bunzl

The founder of a privately owned catering equipment empire is in talks about a sale to Bunzl, the FTSE 100 company, that would deliver a windfall for his family worth more than £450m.

Sky News has learnt that Andrew Nisbet, whose business has become a multinational distributor to the food-service sector, is in advanced talks with Bunzl about a deal that could be struck within weeks.

If completed, it would propel Mr Nisbet, who founded the company in 1983, and his family into the ranks of Britain’s wealthiest people.

City sources said that Bunzl had emerged as the likeliest buyer of Nisbets during negotiations with the family-owned company’s advisers at Goldman Sachs in recent weeks.

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A deal could value the company at between £450m and £500m.

Bunzl, which has a market capitalisation of close to £11bn, has grown both organically and through scores of acquisitions in recent years.

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During the last three years it has spent an average of £425m on buying smaller companies in its sector, and it is run by a management team held in high regard in the City.

It was unclear on Thursday whether any other bidders remained in the frame to buy Nisbets, which boasted sales in 2021 of £420m showing a 34% increase on the previous year.

Nisbets has supplied more than 35,000 catering products to restaurants, hotels, bars, and the broader hospitality industry during its four decades in existence.

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The company is understood to be debt-free, with earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation more than doubling in 2021 to £42.6m.

It operates offices and distribution warehouses in the UK, Ireland, Benelux, Germany, France, Australia and New Zealand.

The majority of its sales are made through its e-commerce platform.

In 2022, the company appointed Clairfield International, an advisory firm, in Europe and Australia to identify Nisbets on acquisition opportunities.

It has also taken steps to strengthen boardroom governance by appointing non-executive directors including Rakhi Goss Custard, who sits on the boards of companies including Kingfisher and Trainline.

The company is run on a day-to-day basis by Peter Sephton, its executive chairman.

Nisbets could not be reached for comment, while Bunzl and Goldman declined to comment.

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