Stretford-based consumer goods distributor, Supreme, has acquired the Typhoo Tea brand for £10.2m.
AIM-listed Supreme, initially a vaping supplier, has shifted to a white label soft drinks business as well as operating in the lighting, batteries and sports nutrition and wellness categories.
It first indicated its interest in acquiring Typhoo out of administration last Thursday (November 28), and today (December 2) confirmed the takeover.
The deal includes Typhoo Tea’s stock and trade debtors with a book value of £7.5m and Supreme expects the integration of the business to proceed without disruption to existing operations or customer service levels.
Established in 1903, Typhoo Tea was the first pre-packaged tea brand in the UK and has since expanded its product offering from traditional teas to include white and lemon instant flavours, herbal and fruit tea infusions, and a selection of coffees across a portfolio of brands including QT, Lift, and Heath and Heather.
Typhoo Tea currently supplies all the major UK supermarkets and discounters. It also distributes products into both the Ministry of Defence and the NHS, alongside servicing international customers across North America, EMEA and Southeast Asia.
For the year ended September 30, 2024, Typhoo Tea generated unaudited revenue of approximately £20m and posted a loss before tax of approximately £4.6m.
Supreme said the acquisition will further accelerate its broader diversification strategy, bringing non-vape annualised sales to more than £120m, around 50% of group revenue.
It said the combination of Typhoo Tea’s product set, alongside Supreme’s Soft Drinks and Sports Nutrition and Wellness categories, will enable the group to further develop sales, marketing and product innovation opportunities.
Sandy Chadha, Supreme chief executive, said: “The acquisition of Typhoo Tea 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 Tea 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.”
He added: “Having established our Soft Drinks division earlier in the year, we believe the addition of Typhoo Tea and its highly complementary blend of great value and premium tea brands, creates tangible cross sell and product innovation opportunities in the near term, alongside avenues into credible UK retailers that Supreme has been looking to partner with.
“We look forward to welcoming Typhoo Tea into the Supreme family and updating shareholders on our progress over the course of the current financial year.”
Typhoo previously operated from a factory in Moreton, Wirral, but in July last year shut the plant down, with the loss of 85 jobs, and relocated to a new headquarters in Bristol. An illegal occupation of the Merseyside factory caused £24m-worth of damage, hastening the struggling brand’s demise.
