Tayto Crisps owner swings from profit to loss after major acquisition
The family owned company – which operates the Northern Ireland-headquartered Tayto Crisps brand – swung from a profit to a loss for the year ended June 30, 2018, following the acquisition of CGC (Liverpool) Ltd and its subsidiaries in June 2018 for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition was completed just days before the company closed its books for the financial year.
Figures filed at Companies House reveal that Manderley’s sales rose from £174m ($227m) to £185.3m ($242.4m).
However, its after-tax profit dropped to a loss of £1.19m ($1.55m) from a profit of £835k ($1.09m) in 2017.
Operating profit came in at £475k ($621k), with an EBITDA of £9.2m ($12m).
Acquisition spree
Tayto – a subsidiary of Manderley and the UK’s third largest snack manufacturer – embarked on an acquisition spree last year, which included the UK snack producer the Real Pork Crackling Company, as well as Tavern Snacks and Portlebay Popcorn and Northern Ireland popcorn producer Pop Notch.
At the time, CEO Paul Allen said organic growth and planned acquisition were key to Tayto’s development strategy.
Allen resigned his position last month, following 17 years at the helm, ostensibly to concentrate on the Genesis Crafty baked goods company his Hatch Bros company acquired for £1.8m ($2.3m) in 2018.
McErlain's Bakery, which produces the Genesis Crafty range, is a family business which started 50 years ago and counts Marks and Spencer, producing pancaskes, scones, cakes and breads for retail customers like Waitrose.
McErlain's Bakery, which produces the Genesis Crafty range, purportedly got into financial difficulties in the past year.
The Manderley Group – owned and managed by the Hutchinson family – has also been focused on expansion in the past decade, with the acquisitions of Real Crisps maker Sirhowy Valley Foods, Red Mill Snack foods and Jonathan Crisp, self-styled as the ‘crisp for snobs’.
The Northamptonshire based company employs around 1,400 staff.
