Plant-Ex Ingredients plans American success after £9m investment from BGF
Food firm Plant-Ex Ingredients is planning to push into the US market after securing a £9m investment from BGF.
The Bristol business was founded in 2010 to develop, make and distribute natural food colours, extracts and flavours. In recent weeks it has opened an expanded Bristol factory, with double the capacity of its previous site, to prepare for growth.
It now plans to use the minority investment from BGF to drive international expansion, with a particular focus on the USA. The group already has sites in Poland and Turkey, and this year opened US arm Plant-Ex Ingredients LLC in Chicago.
BGF’s investment will also see Susan Barratt join its board as a non-executive director. She is a specialist in the food and consumer goods industry, with previous roles at the Institute of Grocery Distribution and the Department of Health and Social Care.
Giles Drewett, founder and CEO of Plant-Ex, says, “Having founded this organisation 14 years ago, it’s been an eventful journey that started in Bristol and has now taken our products to over 50 countries, all over the world.
“It’s a huge privilege to be working in partnership with BGF, and to welcome Susan to our board. Plant-Ex has an exceptional portfolio of products with some world beating expertise in product development and manufacturing. Having the funds in place combined with strategic support from BGF and Susan means that the next major developments can be planned and executed to deliver against the high standards expected by our international customer base.”
James Skade, investor at BGF, added: “The rate at which Giles and the team have been able to grow Plant-Ex in a relatively short space of time is testament to their passion and hard work.
“As Giles and his team look to expand further into international markets, there’s a huge amount of positive impact they can have on consumers, in terms of providing natural, sustainable colours, flavours and extracts in the global marketplace, and we look forward helping them fulfil their objectives.”
The deal was led for BGF by James Skade, Edwin Davies and Louis Hall. The advisers for BGF included James Taylor and Oli Jacquelin from Osborne Clarke (legal); Robert Brown of Claritas (tax); and Tim Owen, Oliver North, James Barton of Oghma Partners (commercial).
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