Canada’s The Very Good Food Company Inc operating as The Very Good Butchers, announces the strategic acquisition of the Lloyd-James Marketing Group Inc., a boutique wholesale and food service broker specializing in plant-based retail placements. The newly formed wholesale team will enable the company to scale its retail network from 275 locations to a target of over 2,000 by end of 2021.
The news follows the company’s recent acquisition of The Cultured Nut, with plans to rebrand as The Very Good Cheese Company.
VERY states that Lloyd-James has played an integral role in its distribution into retailers such as Whole Foods, Sobeys, The Pattison Group and several others, since 2019. This acquisition directly results in cost savings of 5% of future gross revenue due to the elimination of broker fees. In addition, LLoyd-James’ team of national sales representatives will form VERY’s internal Canadian retail sales team.
CEO Mitchell Scott commented: “Lloyd-James’ core services and expertise in the plant-based food industry will add significant value to both VERY and our investors. By acquiring Lloyd James, we not only significantly save on broker fees going forward but now have a Canadian retail sales team whose focused approach to brand representation will help us further establish a national market presence.”
VERY completed the acquisition pursuant to a share purchase agreement with the sole shareholder of Lloyd James for an aggregate purchase price of C$1,075,000; comprised of an equity payment of C$400,000 consisting of 62,329 VERY common shares at a deemed price of approximately C$6.42 per share and a cash portion of C$675,000 of which C$350,000 is contingent on the successful achievement of certain milestones related to the achievement of specific sales targets during the fiscal period ended 2021 and C$75,000 will serve as a holdback for indemnity purposes until August 31, 2021.
All shares issued to Lloyd James are subject to a four month hold until July 12, 2021; in addition to a contractual lock-up terms pursuant to which the shares will be released from in equal quarterly instalments beginning on June 11, 2021 and ending on March 11, 2022
