IN Brief:
- Sky News reports that DBAY Advisors has appointed advisers to prepare a potential Finsbury Food Group auction.
- Finsbury manufactures cakes, bread, bakery snacks and free-from products at sites across the UK and Poland.
- The business has added Lola’s Cupcakes and Flower & White since its 2023 take-private transaction.
The private equity owner of Finsbury Food Group is preparing a potential sale of the bakery manufacturer, three years after the business left the London stock market. DBAY Advisors has appointed investment bank Stephens to prepare an auction that could begin in the coming months, according to Sky News. The reported preparations have not yet resulted in an agreed buyer or transaction price.
Finsbury supplies cakes, breads, sweet bakery snacks and specialist free-from products to retailers and foodservice businesses. It also manufactures licensed character cakes and has expanded into consumer-facing bakery brands with their own retail and delivery channels. The production network combines high-volume bakery work with more specialised formats and customer requirements.
Finsbury’s existing bakery network includes Memory Lane Cakes in Cardiff, Lightbody in Hamilton and Fletchers in Sheffield. Nicholas & Harris produces specialist breads in Salisbury, while Kara Foodservice operates in Manchester. Additional facilities include Johnstone’s in East Kilbride, Lees’ in Coatbridge and specialist gluten-free operations in South Wales and Poland. The group also lists newer manufacturing businesses in London and Telford.
At Hamilton, the Lightbody operation reports a workforce of more than 1,100 and annual production of over 55 million bakery products. This sits alongside other cake, bread and snack factories with different production formats and equipment. Finsbury’s reporting for the year ending June 2026 described roughly 3,000 colleagues, eight UK manufacturing sites, a distribution centre and turnover above £450 million; the reporting scope and period should be distinguished from the later expansion of its brand portfolio.
DBAY’s original purchase was made through Frisbee Bidco following a recommended cash offer in September 2023. The offer valued Finsbury’s issued share capital at about £143.4 million, or 110p a share. The roughly £150 million figure associated with that deal describes the earlier take-private transaction, rather than an agreed valuation for a potential new sale.
In August 2025, Finsbury acquired a majority stake in Lola’s Cupcakes, adding a retail and online business supplied by a West London production operation. The brand operates an e-commerce channel and kiosks or collection points at transport and shopping locations, extending the group’s distribution beyond conventional contracts with major grocery retailers.
Flower & White joined the group in April 2026. The Telford-based producer makes sweet snacks including meringue bars for retail, foodservice and direct-to-consumer customers, and Finsbury said the business would continue operating from its existing premises with the founders involved. The acquisition added another manufacturing process and set of customer relationships to the wider bakery portfolio.
Celebration cake production depends on controlled baking, cooling, filling, icing and decorating steps that can accommodate changing licensed designs and seasonal volumes. Specialist bread production uses different dough handling, proofing and baking processes, while gluten-free products require defined ingredient segregation and controls against cross-contact. These product lines place distinct demands on factory equipment, scheduling and quality systems.
Character-branded cakes also require artwork, packaging and product specifications approved under Finsbury’s licensing arrangements with entertainment rights holders. The company works with more than 20 character licence owners. Those relationships sit alongside retailer specifications and food safety requirements in the production and packaging process.
Retail contracts generally combine fixed specifications with scheduled product volumes and range changes, while foodservice orders can involve different pack sizes and frozen products. Lola’s direct retail and e-commerce activities add order fulfilment and delivery requirements. Integrating these channels with factory output, finished-product storage and distribution is part of the operating structure a prospective buyer would assess.
Different plant specialisms require coordination across factory schedules, manufacturing inputs and finished-product distribution. As the group has added branded retail and online activities, its established wholesale and foodservice supply arrangements have been joined by consumer fulfilment needs. These operating requirements remain in place while the proposed sale is considered.
Stephens’ appointment is a preparatory step ahead of any formal auction, and the identity of potential bidders and the eventual structure of a deal remain open. Meanwhile, the manufacturing businesses continue to meet existing customer contracts, manage input and staffing requirements, and operate their established production and distribution arrangements.
The reported process places a multi-site manufacturer with recent bakery acquisitions under consideration for another change of ownership. Until any transaction is agreed, its factories continue producing cakes, bread, free-from foods and snacks for retail, foodservice and direct channels, with capacity and delivery obligations determined by existing customer orders.
