In 2018, we made a significant investment into St Pierre Groupe, an award-winning bakery business, headquartered in Manchester. Growth capital and support from BGF enabled the team to accelerate its international expansion strategy, and to invest in marketing and brand development.
Alongside funding, we provided St Pierre Groupe with scaleup support, to help unlock further value in the business:
- Introducing the team to David Milner (ex-DASH Water, AllPlants and Baxter’s Food Group), who was appointed Non-Executive Chair and later assumed the role of CEO
- Supporting with succession planning and the development of its board
- Helping to recruit for new leadership roles across commercial, finance and marketing
During our five-year partnership, St Pierre Groupe achieved significant growth across Europe, the Middle East, and the US:
- Turnover more than doubled (from £48 million in 2017 to over £100 million in 2021)
- St Pierre products stocked in 35k+ retail and wholesale stores worldwide, and sold online
- The US accounting for ~50% of the company’s annual sales revenue by 2022
“BGF has been an excellent partner. Their investment was the catalyst to accelerating our growth, helping us realise our goals of scaling here in the UK, as well as achieving international expansion in key markets.”
Paul Baker
Co-Founder of St Pierre Groupe
In 2022, St Pierre Groupe was acquired by international bakery firm Grupo Bimbo, in a deal that delivered excellent returns for all shareholders.
Hear more from Co-Founder Paul Baker below, as he tells us about St Pierre Groupe’s impressive growth journey, and how the Manchester bakery business cracked the US:
