Crowe Ireland acts as lead advisor in sale of Glanmore Foods Limited to Compass Group

Crowe Ireland is pleased to have provided lead advisory and transaction support services to Glanmore Foods Limited on its recently announced sale to Compass Group.

Established in 2004 as a family-owned business by John and Jennifer Mooney, Glanmore Foods is Ireland's largest manufacturer and supplier of school lunches. The company provides over 400 primary and secondary schools with nutritious packed lunches, hot meals and healthy snacks. It also operates on-site cafeterias as well as supplying the national Food Dudes healthy eating scheme that is managed by Bord Bia.

Glanmore Foods operates from two state-of-the-art production facilities in Dublin 11, producing in excess of 200,000 weekly lunches to primary school students nationwide.

The provision of school meals to schoolchildren in Ireland has been a core focus at Government level over the last few years. The Minister for Social Protection, Heather Humphreys, announced in March 2023 a commitment to expanding the School Meals Scheme to ensure that:

• every DEIS primary school student will receive a hot meal effective September 2023
• a free hot meal will be provided to every student in the country by 2030

Operating in 55,000 client locations across 40 countries, Compass Group is one of the largest global food services providers. Compass Ireland employs c.1,500 people nationwide and generates in the region of €100m in annual revenue.

Crowe Ireland acted as the lead advisor to Glanmore Foods on the transaction, providing a full suite of corporate finance (Naoise Cosgrove and Colm Sheehan) and tax (Lisa Kinsella and Michael O'Scathaill) services.

Speaking following the transaction, John Mooney (Managing Director) commented: "We are delighted to have agreed the sale of our family-owned business to Compass Group. We are confident that the combined resources of our existing management team and Compass Ireland's business operations will ensure the continued success of Glanmore Foods as it continues to be the market leader in the provision of healthy school lunches in Ireland.

"Crowe's team played an invaluable part in making the transaction a reality. Their corporate finance and tax teams were proactive throughout the process, expertly guiding us through the initial preparation stage, deal negotiation, buyer due diligence and contracts. We are delighted with the service we received, always benefiting from practical commercial advice."

Responding, Crowe managing partner Naoise Cosgrove commented: "We are delighted to have supported John and Jennifer Mooney in successfully concluding the sale of Glanmore Foods to Compass Group. The sale marks the realisation of a life's work, having built the business up over a period of 20 years to become the leading manufacturer and supplier of school lunches in Ireland. It is very satisfying to have been able to unlock the value of the business through a discrete off-market transaction. We look forward to seeing the business continue to thrive under the ownership of Compass Group in the years ahead."

The sale is subject to approval from the Competition & Consumer Protection Commission.

Crowe's dedicated corporate finance team has a wealth of experience advising clients in M&A transactions. If you are considering the sale or purchase of a business, we can help you maximise your investment.