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| Corporate Finance |
The company has appointed advisers from Cavendish Corporate Finance to raise up to £2m in a deal that is likely to value the start-up Baby Zilli at £10m.
The new funds will be used to finance Baby Zilli's expansion plans. These include growing the company's sales and operational support team, and developing further the organic baby food range, such as creating "finger snacks".
Dean Dunham, a well-known media lawyer and serial entrepreneur, teamed up with Mr Zilli to establish the business in 2008. Since then, Baby Zilli has been funded by its founders.
According to sources, the company forecasts that it can achieve significant growth over the next four years, generating sales of around £73m in year four and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of around £15m in the UK alone.
Mr Zilli, an Italian, owns a number of restaurants, such as Zilli Fish in Soho, London.
The move to sell a stake in the business follows significant interest in organic baby food brands. In 2008, Organix, founded in 1992 by Lizzie Vann, was bought by Hero Group. Swiss-based Hero Group is owned by the German Oetker family, whose wealth is estimated to be £4bn.
