VCT News
Beringea Backs Management Buy Out of Donatantonio
20 December 2007 - London - Beringea Ltd, Manager of the ProVen VCTs, has backed the BIMBO (buy-in, management buy-out) of Donatantonio Limited, one of the UK's market leading importers and distributors of premium quality, authentic Mediterranean foods.
Donatantonio was established in 1902 by Luigi Donatantonio as a Mediterranean retail outlet in central London, catering for Britain's growing Italian population. During the 1950's and 1960's, Donatantonio moved from retail to distribution and started to supply food manufacturers with Mediterranean ingredients. The business principally supplies the food manufacturing sector with products including pasta, tomatoes and olive oil, in addition to the speciality retail outlets with branded products including Lupa and Casalinga.
Donatantonio has identified and is continuing to develop good growth opportunities, both in its existing and new customer base, and has a well invested infrastructure in terms of its warehousing, logistics and technical capability.
Beringea has invested £2.8million through ProVen VCT and ProVen Growth & Income VCT to support the transaction. Beringea also introduced Steve Asplen, who has become CEO. He has strong credentials and a track record of success in both the food manufacturing and food service sectors, having held a number of senior management board level positions.
Under the terms of the deal, Shelia Donatantonio, (current owner) will be leaving the business although her husband (Vincent Donatantonio) and daughter (Tanya Bedford) will remain with the company and continue to form part of the management team.
The deal was led by Beringea Director Jamie Kennell, who has joined the board as a non-executive director. Jamie commented "Donatantonio is a highly successful business, with a quality product offering and clear potential for further growth. This is a great opportunity to build on this company's provenance and excellent reputation, and I have every confidence that Steve Asplen will be a driving force for further growth."
New CEO Steve Asplen comments "I am highly excited by the opportunity for the Donatantonio business which is fantastically positioned to exploit the growing consumer trends toward authenticity and quality. The company has a first class supplier network and a culture with a passion for Meditteranean foods and excellent customer service. I look forward to working with the team and to driving further success for the Donatantonio business in the coming years".
About Beringea
Beringea is an international venture capital firm with offices in London and Detroit. In the UK Beringea manages ProVen VCT, ProVen Health VCT, ProVen Growth & Income VCT and Global Rights Fund II. Beringea launched its first VCT in 1996, making it one of the most experienced VCT managers in the UK. ProVen Growth & Income and ProVen VCT are highest performing VCTs of their launch years, respectively, according to www.taxefficientreview.com. For more information please visit www.provenvcts.co.uk.