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NPIF II - Maven Equity Finance invests £1 million in CRL Foods

Press release 17 February 2025

Newcastle-based CRL Foods (“CRL”), a specialist food & beverage canning business with pioneering thermal processing technology, has secured a £1 million investment from NPIF II - Maven Equity Finance, which is managed by Maven as part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II (“NPIF II”).

image of two men standing at the crl manufacturing unit

Newcastle-based CRL Foods (“CRL”), a specialist food & beverage canning business with pioneering thermal processing technology, has secured a £1 million investment from NPIF II - Maven Equity Finance, which is managed by Maven as part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II (“NPIF II”).

CRL is a food & beverage producer that utilises in-house patented technologies to manufacture a range of ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages including cold brew coffees, teas and protein drinks. Its innovative retort equipment and unique processes underpin CRL’s superior quality of product, sterilising and pasteurising products with delicate ingredients whilst achieving significant water and energy savings in the production cycle. CRL provides its services to a number of major retailers, national food-to-go outlets and well-known brands.

Maven originally invested in CRL Foods in 2021 and 2022 via the North East Development Capital Fund to enable the business to expand its team, invest in new equipment to add additional production lines to its growing factory and increase capacity. Today’s transaction will allow CRL to scale rapidly and enable the business to deliver significantly higher volumes following a number of exciting new contract wins.

With consumer trends moving towards convenience and healthy living, demand is driving a wider range of more innovative products with an environmentally friendly focus. CRL is supporting this sustainability movement by delivering long shelf life ambient products with recyclable packaging; reducing unnecessary food and packaging waste in the process, and helping secure a future for applied food technologies in UK.

Gareth Phillips, MD of CRL Foods, said:

At CRL, we are on a mission to improve the quality and sustainability of thermally processed food and beverage products in the UK, and ultimately worldwide, by providing innovative and value-added contract manufacturing solutions. We are delighted to have Maven's continued support with this latest round of growth capital funding to accelerate our progress towards these goals.

David Nixon, Senior Investment Manager at Maven said:

CRL is a growing business that has utilised its unique manufacturing processes to develop a strong order book from high-quality customers since we first supported the firm back in 2021. The company is well positioned to support increasing consumer demand for healthy and sustainable food & drink, and they have achieved impressive year on year growth to date. The team has many years' experience within the food and beverage industries, and we're delighted to support them at such a pivotal point in the company's development.

Sarah Newbould, Senior Investment Manager at the British Business Bank said:

NPIF II is driving innovation across the North and its recent investment in CRL Foods exemplifies this commitment. This investment demonstrates how the Fund supports a broad range of industries to drive technological advancement and boost growth across the regional economy.

The £660m Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II (NPIFII) covers the entire North of England and provides loans from £25k to £2m and equity investment up to £5m to help a range of small and medium sized businesses to start up, scale up or stay ahead.

The purpose of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II is to drive sustainable economic growth by supporting innovation and creating local opportunity for new and growing businesses across the North of England. The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II will increase the supply and diversity of early-stage finance for the North’s smaller businesses, providing funds to firms that might otherwise not receive investment and help to break down barriers in access to finance.

Further Information

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Notes to editors

About Maven Capital Partners UK LLP

Maven Capital Partners is one of the UK’s leading private equity firms, specialising in investments in high-growth British companies. With a focus on innovation and value creation, Maven partners with visionary entrepreneurs to build market-leading businesses, supporting a range of transaction types, including management buyouts, growth capital, buy and build projects, equity value release and pre-IPO financing. Maven Capital

About the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II

  • Operated by the British Business Bank, the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II (NPIF II) provides a mix of debt and equity funding. NPIF II will offer a range of commercial finance options with smaller loans from £25k to £100k, debt finance from £100k to £2m and equity investment up to £5 million. It works alongside the Combined Authorities, Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), and Growth Hubs, as well as local intermediaries such as accountants, fund managers and banks, to support the North’s smaller businesses at all stages of their development.
  • The funds in which the NPIF II invests are open to businesses with material operations, or planning to open material operations, in: Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, City of Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees, South Teesside, Darlington, Durham, Northumberland, Tyneside, Sunderland.

Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II

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