Bucks County Coffee

Bucks was the leading micro-roaster of branded, premium coffee in the Mid-Atlantic region. Bucks utilized a multi-channel retail strategy (over 40 Company-owned locations) and rapidly growing wholesale business to capture the third-leading coffee market share in its trade areas.

Engagement Goals

Brookwood advised Bucks on its sale to Saxbys Coffee Worldwide, a fast-growing regional competitor.

Engagement Process and Outcomes

Challenging Situation - Brookwood was brought in to assist the various constituents in the capital structure with this distressed client situation facing a deteriorating macroeconomic environment. The Company's highly leveraged capital structure and fixed operating costs magnified the impact of declining consumer spending, resulting in an unsustainable business model under current ownership.

Effective Positioning and Marketing - Capitalizing upon our extensive experience working with multi-unit retailers and restaurants, Brookwood was able to conduct thorough due diligence and quickly develop marketing materials which enabled buyers to efficiently understand the Company and the opportunity. In particular, the materials demonstrated the buyer opportunities and synergies offered by the Company to a broad strategic buyer universe.

Excellent Result - The thorough marketing process generated interest from several strategic buyers and helped the client understand its full set of options. Ultimately, the Company closed a transaction with a rapidly growing strategic buyer that: (i) provided an immediate infusion of cash to continue operations during the ownership transition process; (ii) closed within the necessary timeframe; (iii) allowed the Company to be sold as a going concern; (iv) capitalized on identified business synergies; and (v) addressed the needs of the senior debt, subordinated debt and shareholders.