Page 11 - Tyrrells Chips

Chase announced that half the cash would be spent on fast-tracking the
construction of a new vodka distillery with the capacity to produce

100,000, 750ml bottles a year. Launching the vodka made from potatoes
in premium food halls in time for Christmas, with a national launch and
wider distribution to follow in 2008. The remainder of the prize money

would be spent on advertising to build awareness of the overall brand.

SELLING THE COMPANY

A majority stake in Tyrrells was acquired in mid-2008 by private equity

firm Langholm Capital for in excess of £30m. Over the following two
years Chase saw the distillery growing rapidly and thought that it was
time for him to focus all of his energies into developing this business.

Consequently, at the end of 2010 Chase sold his remaining interest in
the business to Langholm taking their stake to 90% with remaining 10%
left in the hands of management.

For Langholm acquiring Tyrrells was based on the belief that they could:

- Sharpened the brand positioning with a focus on building the

brand personality and its engagement with its core consumers.
- Invest in factory expansion to meet growing demand.

In addition they believed that they could build on the

- Strong sector growth driven by the consumer’s desire for better
quality food and authentic ingredients with provenance.

- Strong independent distribution base with opportunities to
strengthen the breadth and depth of distribution to increase
availability.

SAINSBURY

A year on from the Tesco incident and things had changed. A deal with
Sainsbury's saw it stocking four of Tyrrells' lines in 40% of its stores

Chase commented that Sainsbury's had only been permitted to list its
products because it agreed to buy them at Tyrrells' list price and sell