Nordic Capital Fund VIII “Nordic Capital” acquires Lagkagehuset, a leading premium Danish bakery and food-service chain from FSN Capital who is selling its majority shareholding in the company after eight years of ownership. Lagkagehuset has stores throughout Denmark and a newly established presence in London. Nordic Capital sees great potential in supporting the acceleration of Lagkagehuset’s continued growth in Denmark as well as internationally.
Lagkagehuset is a leading premium bakery and food-service chain in Denmark with 67 stores, and a newly established 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 unique offering, quality products and proven concept are based on a business model with in-house bakery production and a scalable roll-out strategy. The stores in the UK, trading under the “Ole & Steen” brand, are the first phase of an international roll out and prove 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 FSN Capital’s entire majority shareholding in Lagkagehuset A/S, as well as the stakes held by the two founders, Ole Kristoffersen and Steen Skallebæk.
“Nordic Capital has a track record of 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 high quality products every day and is a preferred brand for consumers in Denmark. Nordic Capital’s will leverage its industry expertise within the retail sector to further develop the company internationally supporting Lagkagehuset’s continued progress and expansion in partnership with the company’s strong management team,” says Michael Haaning, Partner, 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 67 stores in Denmark and 2 in London. Lagkagehuset is above all a fantastic company with a unique culture and quality products. The 2 stores in London are the first expansion beyond Denmark’s borders. There will be 200 employees in London before year end, so it’s it has gone far beyond our expectations. I can proudly look back on our ownership period,” says Thomas Broe-Andersen, Partner at FSN Capital.
“We have had a really great cooperation with our owners FSN. We are excited to have found a strong partner in Nordic Capital, which has the experience, industry knowledge and capital to support us bringing Lagkagehuset to the rest of the world and we are looking forward to the new ownership. We have amazing employees and products and expect continued high growth in the coming years” says Jesper Friis, CEO of Lagkagehuset.
Lagkagehuset has professionalised the fresh bakery industry responding to the increasing public focus on healthy quality food products, a concept that resonates internationally. The Lagkagehuset chain has a high degree of flexibility of concept, ranging from large traditional bakeries to smaller urban food-to-go outlets. Lagkagehuset’s business model enables high quality at scale, and its strong brand and modern retail concept has been highly successful in the Danish market where the company now has 67 stores. The company has a total of 1,800 employees, reported revenues of DKK 665 million and growth of 20% in 2016.
The parties have agreed not to disclose the financial terms of the transaction.
The investment is subject to approval by the relevant authority.
