Price Bailey advises NVM on Primal Pantry deal

The Price Bailey Strategic Corporate Finance team have worked closely with clients NVM Private Equity to enable the company to complete a £3m investment deal in health-conscious snack specialists The Primal Pantry.

Founded by Suzie Walker in 2014 at her kitchen table, Primal Bars are now sold in over 7,000 distribution points in the UK including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Co-operative and WH Smith Travel. NVM’s investment will be targeted at growing retail distribution and in-store visibility along with driving brand awareness through consumer marketing channels. With The Primal Pantry’s vision to be the world’s most trusted real food brand, NVM’s backing will enable the company to continue to innovate and reach increasing numbers of consumers.

Price Bailey completed financial and tax due diligence in to The Primal Pantry on behalf of NVM, as well as reviewing the financial model for the company going forward, to include commercial sensitivity analysis.

Charlie Pidgeon, Investment Manager of NVM Private Equity, said the company was “extremely excited” about backing The Primal Pantry: “In a short period of time the business has built a strong and recognisable brand and has accumulated an impressive roster of retailers stocking its products. Having been impressed with the team’s achievements to date, we believe the business has the potential to become a category leader in the rapidly growing healthy snacking sector.”

The Primal Pantry founder Suzie Walker added: “We are incredibly delighted to be welcoming NVM on our journey to becoming a leading and trusted real food brand. With their backing we can take The Primal Pantry to the next level, ensuring more consumers have the opportunity to try our products and encouraging them to make better food choices.”

As well as growing The Primal Pantry’s retail distribution and in-store visibility, NVM’s investment will also enable the company to target social media, PR and sampling channels to increase brand awareness.

Price Bailey Partner Simon Blake, who led the Strategic Corporate Finance team’s work on the deal, said: “We’re very happy to have been able to play a key role in this deal, which should be an extremely good fit for both parties. NVM Private Equity has a history of backing innovative branded food businesses, and are very active in the market at the moment – this is their third growth capital investment of 2018. And The Primal Pantry is just the sort of award-winning, innovative challenger brand in which NVM’s investment can make a real difference.”