Candle distributor lights the way to deal for Soap Kitchen

Mexborough-based Supplies For Candles is a leading online supplier of ingredients to a rapidly growing craft industry, supplying a comprehensive range of fragrance oils, wax and a wide range of ancillary products.

The firm said the acquisition of The Soap Kitchen, a £3.5m revenue supplier of cosmetic soap ingredients, will cement the enlarged firm as a market leader in distribution of candle and soap making supplies in the UK and Europe, with combined revenue expected to approach £10m in the next 12 months.

Supplies for Candles owner, Nicky Story, said: “Both businesses have complementary customer bases and we expect that having a joined-up approach to sales will encourage overlap of candle and soap product sales.

“The Soap Kitchen was an attractive purchase, not only because of its financial success, but because of its loyal customer base and strong reputation as one of the leading hand-made soap manufacturers and ingredients stockists in the UK. As in our business, the existing shareholders placed great emphasis on supplying high quality materials at reasonable prices with high quality customer service, and as such, a great fit as part of our newly formed enterprise.”

The transaction was supported by alternative lender, ThinCats, which provided a seven-figure funding package. A team of Yorkshire-based advisers from Sentio Partners (Andrew Barlow) and Lupton Fawcett (Daniel McCormack and Sarah Webster) supported shareholders on the transaction.

Andrew Barlow, director at Sentio Partners, said: “It’s been a real pleasure to support Nick and the team through this acquisition, particularly given current challenges and the economic landscape.

“The Soap Kitchen represents the perfect strategic acquisition, given both the sector and cultural fit of the two businesses. With significant opportunities ahead, we’re excited to support Nick and the business through the next phase of growth.”

Ben Kimball, director of regional business development at ThinCats, said: “It was a pleasure to work with the team at Sentio once again, and very pleasing to be able to support a business like Supplies For Candles to grow and develop despite the difficult circumstances that we are all experiencing at the moment.”