Posted Wednesday 28th February 2024
Joelson, the leading London law firm, has advised the management team of Vegetarian Express, one of the first B Corp certified food service companies achieving B Corp status in 2019, delivering premium plant-based ingredients, ideas and inspiration to chefs across the UK, on its £15 million investment from NVM Private Equity.
The investment will enable Vegetarian Express to expand into Ireland, increase its operational capabilities, support its customer base and strengthen its digital offering.
Vegetarian Express was founded in 1987 by Dave Jonas and today is the UK’s premier specialist vegetarian and vegan food distributors within the foodservice sector.
Vegetarian Express’ mission is to promote and cater for the rising trend for healthy eating, with a particular focus on healthy eating in the workplace.
Joelson’s Corporate team was led by Partner, Phil Hails-Smith and supported by Associate, Chinedu Onuchukwu and dual-qualified Solicitor, Sylvia Lau (Shuk Fan Lau) in the Corporate team.
Dave Webster, Managing Director of Vegetarian Express, said:
“Joelson’s reputation in the food sector is exceptional and the team really delivered for us on this transaction. Thank you to Phil, Chinedu and Sylvia for all your help. At Vegetarian Express, we are immensely proud of our accomplishments over the past seven years. During this time, Vegetarian Express has evolved and become the foremost specialist in plant-based offerings for the UK’s foodservice sector.
We see this deal as the next phase of the evolution and development of Vegetarian Express and we very much look forward to working with the Joelson team going forwards.”
Phil Hails-Smith, Managing Partner at Joelson, added:
“It’s been a pleasure working with Dave & Hiten and the rest of the Vegetarian Express Team. Joelson has a great deal experience in working with plant-based businesses and the food service industry more widely – we are thrilled to have worked with the management team of Vegetarian Express on this investment advising them on the sale and investment arrangements with NVM.
This deal illustrates Joelson’s commitment to the food service sector and in aligning ourselves with like-minded B Corp businesses who share our ESG values. We are excited to be part of the Vegetarian Express journey and supporting the team on the next chapter in its growth and development.”
This article is for reference purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. Specific legal advice about your specific circumstances should always be sought separately before taking or deciding not to take any action.
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Joelson, a leading London law firm, has been awarded Ecologi’s ‘For Our Planet’ Silver Award this Earth Day.
We have partnered with Ecologi and are now a Climate Action workforce. Through Ecologi we are planting trees across the world to grow our own forest to offset our carbon emissions.
