West Cornwall Pasty Co sold for £40 million

Ken Cocking and his sons launched West Cornwall Pasty Co in 1998 after their previous pasty company, Cornish Range, went bust. They spent 18 months homeless and have now sold the company for £40 million to its management.

When the company was in difficulty, the family turned to a childhood friend Mark Christophers, who invested £30,000 in the business. In addition, the sons’ former girlfriends, Sarah and Victoria Barber, invested an additional further £10,000.

It is expected the Cockings and the Barber sisters will share half the sale proceeds. Mark Christophers, who left a job in London to join the business full-time in 2001, is believed to be getting the rest.

Gavin Cocking commented that there was a major opportunity to bring the Cornish Pasty to the rest of the UK. It has been a very successful 9 years but they said it was always a 10-year plan. They are confident that the company will continue to thrive.

A partner at private equity firm Gresham, Christian Bruning, who is backing the management team remarked that a package has been put together that will allow the company to open over 50 unites across the UK with the possibility of making acquisitions.

West Cornwall Pasty Co presently employs 400 staff and has 34 shops, 18 station kiosks, 1 bar and 2 mobile units and sells over 6 million pasties a year.

Story link: West Cornwall Pasty Co sold for £40 million