Carroll Cuisine is a great example of the type of high-quality business Ireland has operating in the PCF sector. It is a proven company, driven by a brand with a unique heritage and consumer appeal, and a track record of growth and innovation.
While it was established in 1979, earlier this year the existing management team, headed by chief executive Kieran Carolan, acquired Carroll Cuisine from Swiss-Irish food giant Aryzta.
Although the deal was not disclosed, it is believed to have valued the cooked ham and ready meal specialist at an estimated €40m. The deal was backed by private equity group Carlyle Cardinal Ireland (CCI).
Aryzta acquired the Tullamore-based business from the Carroll family in 2004. Today, Carroll Cuisine employs 150 staff and has a turnover of over €50m.
It supplies all major retailers and delivers to over 1,500 customers per week across Ireland.
What is remarkable with this business is that even through a recession it has doubled in size over the past 10 years, investing more than €3m in extra capacity.
This has been achieved by organic growth and by moving more of the product to white meat – ie chicken and turkey. Another factor was taking the decision to produce own-label products for the supermarkets.
“Like all companies, we would love to be a brand-only player, but it just cannot be done – that is really only for multinationals,” said Carolan.
He added that own-label has given them the scale and allowed them to invest in the plant, which has given economies of scale and helped drive efficiencies.
Carolan believes that if they stayed with brand-only, they would need to go multi-geography and move into other countries requiring significant investment.
Using over 20,000 pork legs every week, all the pork products are Irish-sourced and supplied by primary processors, such as Dawn and Rosderra.
Even though today the business is mainly Irish-focused, Carolan is interested in expanding abroad. He said they are currently finalising a deal to export product to Germany.
He has ambitions to double the business over the next five years, increasing turnover to €100m. He hopes to focus on brand innovation, extensions in adjacent categories and to export internationally.
With the precooked market worth €197m and with prepacked growing at 8% per annum, there is great opportunity domestically, according to Carolan.
He didn’t rule out acquisitions in the future, and he is confident that with CCI on board, if the right opportunity came along at the right price, funding would not be a problem.
What’s Carlyle Cardinal Ireland?
CCI is a joint venture between the Carlyle Group and Cardinal Capital Group that makes buyout and growth equity investments in midsized companies across a variety of sectors in Ireland.
Equity investments range from €5m to €50m. CCI is the largest equity investment fund in the Irish market and has extensive experience working with branded food companies within Ireland and internationally.
The €300m investment fund is backed by the State’s Strategic Investment Fund to the tune of €125m. It has also made investments in other food companies, such as the Kildare-based chocolate manufacturer Lily O’Brien’s, which was previously partly owned by the Queally family.
?COMMENT
While this is a competitive and tough market, the scale of this business makes it ideally suited to the ownership structure now in place. Carolan has a strong record in the sector. With ingredients such as a strong domestic brand, large customer base and the backing of a solid fund, this business could be one that will help the PCF sector reach its Agri Vision 2025 targets.
Carroll Cuisine is a great example of the type of high-quality business Ireland has operating in the PCF sector. It is a proven company, driven by a brand with a unique heritage and consumer appeal, and a track record of growth and innovation.
While it was established in 1979, earlier this year the existing management team, headed by chief executive Kieran Carolan, acquired Carroll Cuisine from Swiss-Irish food giant Aryzta.
Although the deal was not disclosed, it is believed to have valued the cooked ham and ready meal specialist at an estimated €40m. The deal was backed by private equity group Carlyle Cardinal Ireland (CCI).
Aryzta acquired the Tullamore-based business from the Carroll family in 2004. Today, Carroll Cuisine employs 150 staff and has a turnover of over €50m.
It supplies all major retailers and delivers to over 1,500 customers per week across Ireland.
What is remarkable with this business is that even through a recession it has doubled in size over the past 10 years, investing more than €3m in extra capacity.
This has been achieved by organic growth and by moving more of the product to white meat – ie chicken and turkey. Another factor was taking the decision to produce own-label products for the supermarkets.
“Like all companies, we would love to be a brand-only player, but it just cannot be done – that is really only for multinationals,” said Carolan.
He added that own-label has given them the scale and allowed them to invest in the plant, which has given economies of scale and helped drive efficiencies.
Carolan believes that if they stayed with brand-only, they would need to go multi-geography and move into other countries requiring significant investment.
Using over 20,000 pork legs every week, all the pork products are Irish-sourced and supplied by primary processors, such as Dawn and Rosderra.
Even though today the business is mainly Irish-focused, Carolan is interested in expanding abroad. He said they are currently finalising a deal to export product to Germany.
He has ambitions to double the business over the next five years, increasing turnover to €100m. He hopes to focus on brand innovation, extensions in adjacent categories and to export internationally.
With the precooked market worth €197m and with prepacked growing at 8% per annum, there is great opportunity domestically, according to Carolan.
He didn’t rule out acquisitions in the future, and he is confident that with CCI on board, if the right opportunity came along at the right price, funding would not be a problem.
What’s Carlyle Cardinal Ireland?
CCI is a joint venture between the Carlyle Group and Cardinal Capital Group that makes buyout and growth equity investments in midsized companies across a variety of sectors in Ireland.
Equity investments range from €5m to €50m. CCI is the largest equity investment fund in the Irish market and has extensive experience working with branded food companies within Ireland and internationally.
The €300m investment fund is backed by the State’s Strategic Investment Fund to the tune of €125m. It has also made investments in other food companies, such as the Kildare-based chocolate manufacturer Lily O’Brien’s, which was previously partly owned by the Queally family.
?COMMENT
While this is a competitive and tough market, the scale of this business makes it ideally suited to the ownership structure now in place. Carolan has a strong record in the sector. With ingredients such as a strong domestic brand, large customer base and the backing of a solid fund, this business could be one that will help the PCF sector reach its Agri Vision 2025 targets. 
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