Beringea portfolio company reached £45m in revenues prior to successful exit
Beringea, the transatlantic venture capital investor, has today announced the sale of its stake in Lupa Foods, a leading supplier to the UK food industry. The business has been acquired by Geia Food, the leading food concept provider in the Nordics. Beringea delivered a 5.2x cash-on-cash return over the course of the investment.
Beringea first invested in Donatantonio, a family-run importer and distributor of Mediterranean foods, in 2007. Over the course of Beringea’s investment, the distributor scaled significantly and diversified its offering of products for food manufacturers, recipe box companies, and other key players in the industry.
This growth journey accelerated following the merger of Donatantonio and Compleat Food Network in 2018, which was supported by debt funding provided by Beringea’s ProVen Legacy. The combined business, rebranded as Lupa Foods, brought together two of the UK’s most experienced ingredient sourcing firms to accelerate growth and strengthen profitability.
Since 2018, Lupa Foods has doubled turnover, achieving annual revenues of £45m. With an experienced team of 35, the business has established a reputation for operational efficiency, a customer-centric approach, and a continuous pursuit for excellence.
Beringea has also worked closely with the Lupa Foods management team to enhance its approach to sustainability, minimising its environmental impact while delivering value to customers. Through third party audited carbon emissions certification, Lupa Foods today ensures transparency and accountability, supporting the UK’s target to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
“I am incredibly proud of Lupa Foods’ development and exceptional growth since 2018, during which we doubled our turnover to over £40 million by focusing on operational excellence and customer alignment,” says Manish Mandavia, CEO of Lupa Foods. “Our long history and trusted partnerships are the foundation of our success. Joining Geia Food presents a remarkable opportunity to scale our operations and enhance our value proposition by accessing their extensive sourcing capabilities and global network. Together, we are committed to delivering even greater value to our customers and partners while meeting the evolving needs of the UK food industry.”
Malcolm Moss, Founding Partner of Beringea, commented: “We have been on a remarkable journey with the team at Lupa Foods. The business has gone from strength to strength in recent years, expanding its client base, scaling revenues, and strengthening profitability. This has been testament to the leadership and drive of Manish Mandavia and the wider leadership team. We look forward to watching the business flourish during this new chapter.”
Claus Ravnsbo, Group CEO of Geia Food, said: “We are thrilled to announce the acquisition of Lupa Foods which marks a significant step in our efforts to develop our market position through geographic expansion. Lupa Foods is a pioneer in the UK’s food industry with an impressive 120 years’ experience. As one of the first food importers in the United Kingdom the company enjoys an excellent reputation, and its industry and product knowledge has no equal. We are very impressed by Lupa Foods’ development and deep understanding of the food industry dynamics, and we see vast opportunities to grow the business further by putting Geia’s sourcing capabilities and supplier portfolio into play in the UK market.”
Lupa Foods continues to benefit from the support of Opus, its longstanding independent corporate finance advisors, who have played a key role in guiding the company’s broader strategic initiatives in recent years.
