ECF Group, the international distribution group aimed at Hospitality & Care professionals announces a strategic acquisition in Italy, which consolidates the Group’s distribution platform on the peninsula.
Having grown since its foundation 28 years ago, the company VALUER, a regional distributor of tableware, cleaning products and consumables, has been acquired from its founder Alberto VALLE. VALUER is based in Bologna, well-established in the restaurant and takeaway market, and has a respected own brand range and an e-commerce site experiencing very strong growth.
“We are once again carrying out a consolidation operation involving two companies with similar cultures, whose directors know and respect one another and will work well together,” explained Christophe ALAUX, Chairman of ECF Group.
“It is also an opportunity to embark on a much-needed consolidation of brands: in each country, the best-known brand will gradually become the group’s multi-channel brand. This new merger will help us reinforce our position in Italy, which is now our second largest platform in Europe.”
The transaction will take the form of a merger-absorption of VALUER by CHS (Catering Hotel Service), the subsidiary of ECF Group in Italy acquired in 2019. To coincide with this transaction, ECF Group is embarking on efforts to unify its brands and will consolidate all its Italian operations under the CHS company and brand.
“The merger of CHS and VALUER is a fantastic project for hospitality and catering professionals and for the ECF Group team. Our ranges and services will better meet the needs of the whole market, our facilities and digital strategy respond to changing customer demands and the expected synergies will strengthen our competitiveness within the market,” added Carlo SCALABRINI, founder of CHS and Managing Director of ECF Group in Italy.
This will make CHS group the leading distributor of supplies for hospitality, catering, and local authorities in Italy. The new group will have a headquarters near Milan, two logistical sites (Milan and Bologna), 10 showrooms supporting the sales teams (Milan, Bologna, Padua, Rimini, Brescia, Bergamo, Turin and Rome, scheduled to open in 2022) and an e-commerce site to develop a genuine multi-channel growth strategy, making Italy the group’s second largest platform for growth in Europe.
“Valuer is positioned in a segment that complements CHS perfectly with very competitive cleaning and takeaway product ranges and an online shop that is performing very strongly. I am happy to join ECF Group and contribute to the development of the sector’s leading specialist distributor in Italy. It is also the right time for this operation, which will strengthen the new grouping as we emerge from the Covid crisis,” concluded Alberto VALLE, founder of VALUER.
Carlo SCALABRINI, co-founder of CHS and current country manager will become the Managing Director of ECF Group in Italy CEO of CHS. Alberto VALLE, founder of VALUER, will be given the role of General manager CEO in charge of purchasing and supply chain.
The two acquisitions are part of the in-depth change at ECF Group initiated in 2017 with the support of its shareholders, notably Naxicap Partners. The group’s M&A activities have enabled it to carry out over 15 external growth transactions in the last 4 years, including two in the first half of 2021 (COLDIS and PROINOX).
The acquisition of VALUER in Italy was carried out using the short-term cash funds available to the group.
