Ranjit Boparan has picked up another distressed business to add to his private investment portfolio, striking a deal to buy Muscle Food out of administration, The Grocer can reveal.
Boparan Private Office acquired the business and assets of Muscle Foods Ltd from administrators at insolvency firm Mackay Goodwin.
Boparan said the online meat retailer was well aligned with the existing BPO portfolio.
Muscle Food collapsed last month after one of its lenders withdrew support from the company. The business had also experienced widespread disruption of deliveries to consumers and a stream of customer complaints about rotting meat. Its administration came just a year after a change of ownership aimed at turning the business around.
As well as its core offering of meat hampers, Muscle Food sells high-protein ready meals and snacks.
A spokesman for BPO confirmed a number of core staff members at Muscle Food had been retained following the deal, but declined to share details of any redundancies at the DTC operator. Muscle Food employed around 90 staff, according to the most recent set of Companies House accounts, signed off in January this year.
BPO president Ranjit Boparan said: “We can confirm the acquisition of the business and assets of Muscle Food by Boparan Private Office, following a short period of administration after the business experienced difficulties.
“The business aligns well with the existing BPO portfolio, being a protein-focused operation. Going forward we will be fully evaluating the business, using the strength of our established supply chain to deliver a great product and service to Muscle Food customers in this new era.”
The deal follows the rescue by BPO of historic Welsh bakery Brace’s in June and Roberts Bakery in October.
BPO has swelled in size in recent years thanks to a flurry of acquisitions and is now larger than Boparan-owned 2 Sisters. Alongside Muscle Food and the distressed bakery deals, BPO bought poultry farming operation Hook 2 Sisters from its sister business last year.
The private office also owns turkey processor Bernard Matthews, Banham Poultry, own-label biscuit maker Elkes Biscuits, Holland’s Pies, Irish frozen pastry supplier Portumna and restaurant chains Carluccio’s, Gourmet Burger Kitchen and Giraffe, as well as other agriculture and property assets.
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