Mrs Mac’s won’t bite on sale rumour

The family behind food producer Mrs Mac's is lying low amid rumours about the future and financial health of the business, after the pandemic took its toll on the company’s bottom line.

This morning, the Australian Financial Review reported Mrs Mac's had engaged KPMG to hunt for potential investors as part of a three-month auction to recapitalise the business.

Despite $68 million in sales, data from KPMG indicated the company had an EBITDA margin of about -4 per cent and debt in excess of $33 million.

The loss was attributed to the impact of COVID-19 on sales and rising ingredients costs.

With a matter of days left for final offers, the Mrs Mac's management team is understood to be focusing on turnaround plans.

Victoria-based Temptation Bakeries is understood to be a potential buyer.

But Mrs Mac's has remained tight-lipped about the situation, telling Business News that, as a private family company, it would not be making any comment to the media.

The news comes amid significant change in leadership at the company, owned by Robert and Katrina Macgregor.

In February last year, Mrs Mac's appointed industry veteran Jonathan Moss to replace Paul Slaughter as chief executive, who left to join Andrew and Nicola Forrest’s agricultural investment vehicle Harvest Road.

It follows the addition of WayFinder Capital co-founder Lui Pangiarella as a director of the company.

Formerly known as Bakewell Pies, the company has been owned and managed by three generations of the Macgregor family since its inception in 1954.

The company operates a head office and production facility in Morley and has more than 300 staff.