The combination of Sykes Seafood and Klaas Puul will create a EUR300 million Pan European seafood business with expertise in all species of shrimp that will offer customers across Europe a wide range of high-quality products in chilled and frozen formats for the Retail, Foodservice and Manufacturing sectors.

Klaas Puul is one of the largest shrimp processors in Europe with operations in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Denmark and Morocco. The company has over 3,500 employees with annual revenues of EUR130 million. The business was part of DSC, a portfolio company of H2 Equity Partners.

Sykes Seafood is a family-run business focused on providing customers with sustainably sourced seafood to the highest technical standards. Founded in Liverpool in 1862, the business is best known for suppling warm water shrimp to the UK food and catering industries.

Klaas Puul supplies sustainable, high-quality and distinctive fresh and frozen shellfish and crustacean products.

In addition to its state-of-the-art manufacturing and processing facility in Sefton, the firm has a site in Manchester’s New Smithfield Market, specialising in picking and dispatching products to provide quality control in the supply chain. Sykes also has an international reach, with joint ventures agreed with numerous factories and facilities overseas.

The transaction was led by Zeus Capital’s corporate finance team, split across both its London and Manchester offices, The team, led by Gareth Davies and Richard Hughes, have advised Sykes Seafood on an ongoing basis for the past two years, and provided financial advice to Sykes throughout the acquisition process. This included securing financing from three European banks and assisting with structuring to support the Group’s growth ambitions.

Zeus Capital is a leading adviser to mid-cap private and public companies, and has been prolific across the public and private markets in recent years, acting on 143 transactions that have raised a total of £6.3bn.

Established in 1862, Sykes Seafood has expanded to become one of the UK’s leading independent seafood suppliers.

Alan Dale, Managing Director at Sykes Seafood, says: “The Zeus team have been fantastic to work with on this deal. They have supported us really well throughout the transaction, the true testament of that is that we would be delighted to use them again on the next deal that we do.
 
“The combination of Sykes and Klaas Puul is something that is very exciting to us as it gives us a platform to conclude further Pan European deals with our core customers and also gives us the additional production capacity that we desperately needed in order to grow our sales.”

Klaas Puul trades in prawns and shrimps that are caught and farmed all over the world.

Richard Hughes, Founder at Zeus Capital, says: “It has been a pleasure advising Sykes on this transaction and working with their highly talented and ambitious management team. We were able to support the team in completing this transaction despite the incredibly challenging macro-conditions, which included securing a debt financing package from three European banks.
 
“The combination of Sykes and Klaas Puul creates a highly focused and specialised business and the perfect platform for further European acquisitions. We look forward to working with Sykes and Klaas Puul on the next stage of their journey and supporting them in delivering their strategic objectives.”

Sykes Seafood state-of-the-art processing factory is located in Sefton, Manchester.

About Sykes Seafood

Sykes Seafood is a family run business with over a 100 years expirience.
   Sykes Seafood is a brand built on quality, with only the finest raw materials selected. The company's product range is built upon only the highest sourced raw materials. Sykes Seafood's buyers have worked within the industry and encompass knowledge, experience and confidence in their decisions. The company works with trusted suppliers in joint ventures that have been part of its business for a vast amount of time. Sykes Seafood sources from across the globe with relationships built in a variety of countries through a multitude of languages and it sources the finest and freshest raw material available to buy to UK Technical accreditation and standards.

About Klaas Puul BV

For decades already, Klaas Puul has been one of the leading producers of fresh fish products in Europe. From the catch to delivery to the customer, Klaas Puul manages the entire production and processing procedure. Thanks to its high-quality production system and authentic craftsmanship, the company is able offer the very highest quality in seafood, crayfish and natural prawns and shrimps.

About Zeus Capital

Zeus Capital is an independent investment banking boutique, providing the highest quality advice to clients across a range of sectors and transactions. £1.9bn has been raised by Zeus Capital as Sole or Joint broker and/or book-runner over the last three years.

Source: Zeus Capital