UK convenience food supplier Around Noon has sold a minority stake to Belfast-based fund manager Whiterock.
While Around Noon did not disclose the actual size of the investment nor the financial terms in a statement, a spokesperson for Around Noon told Just Food it amounts to a “multi-million investment”.
The Northern Ireland food-to-go business headquartered in Newry, County Down, supplies chilled, frozen and heated sandwiches and wraps, along with salads and fruit pots to customers in the UK and Ireland.
Around Noon said the funds will support the company’s “next phase of growth” and enable the business to “scale significantly”, although the spokesperson declined to provide more details on those plans to Just Food.
Revenue last year was around £81m ($110.2m), the spokesperson said. The latest accounts filed with Companies House in London – for the year to 31 December 2024 – show Around Noon generated a turnover of £26.4m. That was down from £27.5m a year earlier.
Set up in 1989 by the Chambers family in Newry, where it has a manufacturing plant, Around Noon also operates production facilities in Slough, south-east England, and north London.
Around Noon confirmed there are three sites in Newry, including a bakery, and one in Soho in north London. The company also operates one plant in Slough after the consolidation of two facilities.
CEO Gareth Chambers said in the statement: “We see huge growth opportunities in the UK and Ireland, and taking on equity backing will be incredibly helpful to us in being able to scale significantly.
“We are grateful to the Whiterock team for their support and expertise and believe they can play a very valuable role in the next phase of Around Noon and our growth.”
Around Noon said it supplies “more than four million” products a month into the convenience channel, supermarket retail, coffee shops and garage forecourts. The travel, education and catering sectors are also customers.
Whiterock invests in SMEs with more than £255m of assets under management across five funds, according to its website.
Its CEO Paul Millar said in the statement: “Around Noon is an incredible story of Northern Ireland business success and a company that is truly respected in the food-to-go sector. We are extremely pleased to partner with Gareth and the team to help them realise their ambitions for further growth.”
The business has branched out through M&A, striking a deal in 2023 for The Soho Sandwich Company. In 2020 it also acquired Simply Fit Food of Drogheda, County Louth, following the 2017 purchase of London-based Chef in a Box.
