UK online plant-based supermarket The Vegan Kind (TVK) has been sold in administration to Lillie SPV Limited in a pre-pack transaction.
The Glasgow-based business and its assets were sold immediately after Alistair McAlinden and Blair Nimmo from Interpath Advisory were appointed joint administrators of the business on 11 October 2022.
In April 2021, TVK raised £3.5 million in Series A funding from Literacy Capital Plc (which, according to The Grocer, controls Lillie SPV), and in a release in June, co-founders Scott and Karris McCullough announced the investment company as majority shareholder in the business.
The couple stepped down with immediate effect as CEO and managing director, but remained minority shareholders. Scott stated he would remain on the board as a non-exec director and that until September 2022 would work with TVK and its new CEO Sarah Boddy, who took over on 13 June, to ‘ensure a smooth transition’.
Founded in 2013, TVK is the largest vegan-only online supermarket in the UK, offering over 5,000 plant-based products available nationwide for next-day delivery, as well as monthly vegan beauty and food subscription boxes.
The company’s directors had sought new investment to support the continued operation of the business but those efforts were unsuccessful
After achieving revenues of £7.5 million during the COVID lockdowns, TVK invested in infrastructure, including moving to a 35,000sq ft warehouse, but with a downturn in revenue since lockdown restrictions eased and increased infrastructure costs, it incurred losses which led to cash flow challenges.
Commenting on the move, McAlinden says: “The company’s directors had sought new investment to support the continued operation of the business but those efforts were unsuccessful and the directors took the difficult decision to place the company into administration. However we are glad to have been able to conclude this transaction and give the business the best opportunity of a successful future.”
Under the terms of the transaction, all 38 of the company’s staff have transferred to the new owners, in addition to key management.
The news is another shock to the sector, coming as it does after major health food wholesalers Tree of Life and The Health Store entered administration in August.
