Oct. 24 - Phoenix Equity Partners ("Phoenix") is pleased to announce that it has reached agreement to invest in Abel & Cole Limited ("Abel & Cole"), one of the UK's leading suppliers of home delivered organic food. The investment in Abel & Cole is the sixth investment from Phoenix's £375 million fund raised in April 2006.
Abel & Cole is the UK's leading supplier of home delivered organic food. It offers a comprehensive range of organic produce, including meat, fish, dairy products and groceries. It is renowned for its organic credentials and is well placed to take advantage of strong growth in demand for organic food. Phoenix's investment will support the business in its next stage of growth.
Phoenix has partnered with the founder and previous owner, Keith Abel, in this transaction, as well as the existing management team.
David Burns, Partner at Phoenix with responsibility for investments across the consumer sector, said:
"Abel & Cole is a wonderful story of an entrepreneur turning a vision into reality. Keith and his management team have built a great business which has remained loyal to its core values. We are looking forward to working in partnership with Keith and the management team to continue the successful development of the business."
Duncan Gibson, Abel & Cole's Managing Director, said:
"Abel & Cole is made up of a wonderful group of people with a shared passion for both what we do and how we do it. That commitment lies at the heart of our success. In Phoenix we have found a partner who shares both our energy and our belief in the future of delicious, organic and fairly traded food. They have a wonderful track record for helping small entrepreneurial companies handle the challenges of rapid growth whilst preserving the things that make them special. This is an incredibly exciting time for Abel & Cole"
Keith Abel, Founder of Abel & Cole, said:
"Phoenix are a perfect fit for us. I didn't want to sell up and be shunted into retirement, and Phoenix are used to working with entrepreneurs; they will let us carry on doing what we're best at, and support us with the rest of it. I think their approach is just right for us – they'll support and respect our values, let us get on with what we know, and help us on the things we don't know. All of us at Abel & Cole are looking forward to working with them."