Cake manufacturer Finsbury Food Group is set to acquire cake company Lightbody Group for £37.5m.

The deal, which is subject to certain conditions and shareholder approval, would make Finsbury Food Group the UK's leading premium cake business, according to the company.

Both companies manufacture own-label cakes for the major multiples and supply products under licence for companies including Disney and Thorntons.

Finsbury plans to place 12.5 million shares of 1p each at 85p per share to raise approximately £10m to partially fund the deal.

“The opportunities for the new Group are excellent, and with the acquisition we will have a scale where we can drive our premium agenda with all of our major customers,” said Dave Brooks, chief executive of Finsbury Food Group.

Martin Lightbody, managing director of Lightbody, added: “We have watched the strong growth and performance of Finsbury and believe that we will make a perfect partnership given the alignment of our strategic vision, and that together we will be able to drive sales of UK multiple grocers' premium brands and deliver even greater growth for our key licensing partners.”