Britain's Supreme has bought out tea brand Typhoo Tea from administration in a £10.2 million (€12.3 million) deal, the fast-moving consumer products seller said.
The 120-year-old tea brand had fallen into administration in November due to declining sales and mounting debt pressures. A break-in at its Merseyside factory in August 2023 exacerbated the company's cost pressures, and the site was subsequently shuttered.
Supreme PLC, which sells Duracell and Energiser batteries along with Elf Bar vapes, expects to boost its non-vape sales with the acquisition, which would take the segment's sales to account for 50% of the company's overall revenue.
Supreme also expects to further its retail footprint with the acquisition, taking advantage of Typhoo Tea's expansive supply relationship with all major UK supermarkets and discounters.
Typhoo Tea
Typhoo Tea, the first pre-packaged tea brand in the UK, made about £20 million (€24.2 million) in revenue and pre-tax losses of about £4.6 million (€5.6 million) for the year ended 30 September.
Sandy Chadha, CEO of Supreme PLC, stated, “Typhoo is such an iconic brand, and with Supreme’s distribution network and resources, we have the scope to grow and develop it. The acquisition of Typhoo Tea Ltd marks a significant step in our broader diversification strategy and brings one of the most iconic UK consumer brands into the Supreme family.
“I believe Typhoo will thrive under our ownership, further benefitting from Supreme’s significant market reach and successful track record in creating brand loyalty, making us an ideal fit for this business. We are very excited about these latest additions to our portfolio, which mean we can serve our existing customers even better and get acquainted with many new ones.”
News by Reuters, additional reporting by ESM.
