Renamed Boncolac buys UK foodservice supplier Cakesmiths

France’s Boncolac, now known as Onoré, has snapped up another business across the English Channel.

Dean Best December 15, 2023

A cruffin on sale in UK coffee shop The Green Bean Coffee. Credit: The Green Bean Coffee / Facebook

Boncolac, the France-based food group, has moved for another UK business, snapping up foodservice supplier Cakesmiths.

The deal, struck for an undisclosed sum, was announced alongside Boncolac’s new corporate name – Onoré. Bristol-based Cakesmiths sells sweet and savoury snacks to coffee shops in the UK, as well as directly to customers online.

Onoré already owns two UK businesses. In 2022, the company bought macaron supplier Mag’M. Earlier this year, it snapped up savoury-pastry business Proper Cornish. The group has been majority-owned by Waterland Private Equity since 2022.

A spokesperson for Waterland Private Equity said Onoré is buying 100% of Cakesmiths “with [the] entire Cakesmiths’ management team reinvesting significantly into Onoré”. The terms of that investment have also not been disclosed.

According to a statement released by Waterland Private Equity, Onoré’s annual sales are “close to €200m ($219.4m)”.

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Eighteen months ago, LDC, an investment arm of the UK’s Lloyds Banking Group, made a “significant investment” in Cakesmiths. It is selling up as part of the deal with Onoré. LDC said Cakesmiths had “increased revenue by 164% and EBITDA by 260% over a two-year period” since its investment, without providing details. Cakesmiths, it added, has grown its workforce from 110 to “more than 200” in that time.

Cakesmiths CEO Chris Ormrod, who is to stay in his role, said: “Demand for our amazing cakes shows no sign of slowing and we’re now perfectly positioned to share them with more people around the world as part of Onore.”