The international Le Duff Group, headquartered in France, acquires the majority of the shares in Kamps GmbH from German Equity Partners III (GEP III), a fund managed by ECM Equity Capital Management (ECM), in order to strengthen its presence in the German quick service gastronomy and bakery market. As part of the envisaged transaction, the Kamps management team, headed by CEO Jaap Schalken, will reinvest into the company and continue to lead Kamps on its growth path as well as support the expansion of Le Duff Group in the German market. The transaction is still subject to approval from the relevant antitrust authorities. The purchase price and further details of the transaction have not been disclosed.
Kamps is one of the best-known brands in the German bakery market. Measured by the number of locations the company is one of the leading retail bakeries in Germany and amongst the Top-10 players in the quick service gastronomy market. With approximately 450 employees, the company achieved external sales of more than €200m in 2014.
Successful repositioning creates new growth prospects for Kamps
Together with the Kamps management, GEP III, managed by ECM, acquired the traditional bakery group from the Barilla Group in summer 2010. Management subsequently repositioned Kamps: in addition to the creation of operational functions required to run Kamps on a standalone basis, the portfolio of traditional bakeries and production sites was realigned through selective regional disposals. As a result, the company focused its portfolio of traditional artisan bakeries on its home region of North-Rhine Westphalia, where the company is one of the market leaders, operating around 415 bakeries today.
At the same time, the company expanded its business model into the growing quick service gastronomy market: Kamps introduced a new outlet fitting concept for its traditional bakeries in Germany creating an atmosphere for customers for on-premises consumption. In addition, the company established the scalable Kamps “Backstuben” format which is not reliant on a central production facility. With approx. 70 Kamps “Backstuben” in top locations with high pedestrian traffic across Germany, Kamps now operates a successful premium format where customers can experience on-premises baking. The success of the “Backstuben” platform is based on the new logistics and production concept, which involved significant investment into the company’s centralized production site in Schwalmtal, Germany, as well as the individual “Backstuben” locations. With the opening of the first Kamps “Backstuben” in London at the end of 2013, the company has achieved proof-of-concept for the international roll-out of the format.
Strong strategic partner for the international expansion of the Kamps “Backstuben” format
Le Duff Group intends to expand its activities in Germany and significantly improve its presence in the German bakery and quick services market by acquiring Kamps. Apart from the further development of the network of traditional Kamps bakeries in the company’s core market North-Rhine Westphalia, Le Duff Group intends to realize future growth by expanding the scalable “Backstuben” concept in Germany and internationally. Together with the existing management, Le Duff Group intends to support Kamps on its further growth path and expand its geographical reach. As international group with annual sales of around €1.5 billion, around 1 million daily customer contacts worldwide and more than 27,000 employees, Le Duff Group is the biggest chain of Café- and bakery concepts worldwide, including several restaurant brands. Le Duff Group operates its brands in 80 countries across 5 continents. The Group’s most well-known brands include Brioche Dorée, Timothy’s Coffee und Bruegger’s Bagels.
Consumer trend towards out-of-home consumption fuels prospects for growth
Consumer trends such as increasing out-of-home consumption, growing health awareness of many consumers and the resulting decline in demand for traditional fast food, the generally non-cyclical demand for staple foods such as bread and pastries as well as the excellent global reputation of German baking products offer Kamps attractive growth prospects, both in Germany and internationally.
Jaap Schalken, CEO of Kamps, said: “Together with ECM, we have significantly improved our traditional bakeries portfolio, while simultaneously establishing our Kamps “Backstuben” in Germany as a nationally and internationally scalable format. Due to substantial investment in an efficient logistics and production setup, we were able to establish the “Backstuben” into a second pillar of our business model in the quick service gastronomy segment. With the proven expertise of Le Duff Group in the food sector and its international reach, we look forward to further expanding this format and to realize the growth potential that lies ahead.”
Louis Le Duff, founder and CEO of Le Duff Group added: “We have been looking with much interest at the German market – where we have already been present with our brands Bridor and Brioche Dorée – for many years. We are thrilled by the prospect of being a partner of Kamps, which is one of the best known bakery brands in Germany. Kamps will continue to develop on its own within Groupe Le Duff. Jaap Schalken and his management team will continue to lead the company forward. In light of increasing international demand for high-quality, fresh snacks and bakery products, we aim to capitalize on the growth potential of Kamps by actively supporting the company with our expertise and out international network.”
Florian Kähler, Partner at ECM, said: “In 2010, the “Backstuben” format was still in a pilot phase. Today Kamps successfully operates approx. 70 “Backstuben” across Germany and since the end of 2013 also the first outlets in London. We are proud to have contributed to the success and the strategic development of the company. We are pleased that the well-regarded global food concept specialist Le Duff Group will now continue to implement Kamps’ growth strategy.”
Kamps and GEP III were advised by Dusseldorf-based M&A advisor Network Corporate Finance on this transaction. Due Diligence support to GEP III was provided by PricewaterhouseCoopers, while Allen & Overy provided legal advice. The Kamps management was advised by Hengeler Müller. Florian Kähler, Chris Peisch, Marius Buxkämper and Max Thielemann were responsible for the transaction at ECM. Baker & McKenzie provided legal advice to Groupe Le Duff, while KPMG provided due diligence support.
Kamps
Kamps is one of the best-known brands in the German bakery market. The first Kamps bakery opened in 1982 on Dusseldorf’s Friedrichstraße. Meanwhile there are some 415 Kamps outlets in Germany offering customers fresh bakery goods. In 2010, the company began to broadly roll out the “Backstuben” concept on a nationwide basis in locations with strong retail footfall. Today, around 70 Kamps “Backstuben” are managed by franchise partners. The Kamps “Backstuben” concept is a modern premium outlet designed to offer a unique experience of fresh artisan bakery, enabling customers to “look over the shoulder” of the bakers as they do their work. The opening of the first Kamps “Backstuben” in London at the end of 2013 was testimony the successful internationalization of the “Backstuben” business model.
Further information: www.kamps.de
Le Duff Group
Founded in 1976 by Louis Le Duff, Groupe Le Duff has since grown to become the biggest group operating Café and Bakery concepts worldwide, with brands such as Brioche Dorée, Timothy’s Coffee, or Bruegger’s Bagels. Groupe Le Duff is also active in the traditional catering sector with its two American restaurant brands, La Madeleine and Mimi’s Café, both dedicated to French food, as well as Del Arte, a brand dedicated to Italian food specialties. Groupe Le Duff also owns production facilities: Its brand Bridor produces classic baked goods, bread, pastries and cakes, while FB Solution specializes in baking and delivering fresh bread and pastries to food professionals throughout the year and around the clock. In 2010, Groupe Le Duff expanded its portfolio of brands to include Recettes de la Ferme des Loges, which offers high-range organic products and recipes to hotels and catering groups; and Cité Gourmande, an industrial unit specialising in potatoes-based recipes.
Further information at: http://en.groupeleduff.com
Press contact ECM:
Charles Barker Corporate Communications GmbH
Tobias Eberle, Telephone 069 794090-24
tobias.eberle@charlesbarker.de
Jan Hromadko, Telephone 069 794090-44
Jan.Hromadko@charlesbarker.de
Press contact Le Duff Group:
Nicolas SAINT-LEGER
nsaintleger@groupeleduff.com