Panicium

Panicium, a buy-and-build artisan speciality food group, entrusted HURST Corporate Finance to advise on its latest acquisition. Leveraging key intermediary relationships, HURST Corporate Finance introduced specialist lender Shawbrook Bank, who provided a commercial loan facility to support the acquisition.

The deal follows Panicium’s acquisition in 2018 of Margaret Hall, a handmade cakes and biscuits producer which operates under the Margaret’s Country Kitchen brand.

Sheffield-based Binghams is a specialist potted meat and fresh spreads producer founded by Charles Bingham in 1914 selling products from home.

The company now sells more than four million items a year, supplying a well-established network of retailers, distributors and sandwich shops across the UK.

All of its potted meats are made using selected high-quality cuts of British beef and pork and are cooked from recipes which go back 100 years.

Graham Norfolk, one of Panicium’s founding directors, said: “Binghams makes artisan, high-quality, delicious products with a distinctive brand. The products are primarily sold in retail outlets across Yorkshire, the north west, the north east and the East Midlands.

“There is a clear opportunity within the Panicium group to extend both the market reach and the product range, and to build upon 100 years of tradition.”

Peter Moon, managing director of Binghams, said: “Having steadily grown our sales over the last five years, Binghams is poised for step-change growth and will benefit from the investment and market extension available through Panicium.

“Although our product range is different to Margaret Hall, we share a number of routes to market and, ultimately, our products are consumed by people who love artisan, quality food.

“We look forward to working with the Margaret Hall team to develop Panicium’s position as a leading supplier of quality foods.”

Peter Fields, also a Panicium director, said: “We are delighted to expand our group and welcome aboard Binghams. With an impressive heritage, strong roots in Sheffield and a well-known reputation for producing high-quality products, we are excited to take the business forward on its growth journey with the support of Shawbrook.”