£2B
Annual turnover
EBITDA Step-Change Transformation Journey
A £2 billion UK food manufacturer faced a decline in profits from £120 million to £45 million post-COVID. Together with the company’s leadership team, EFESO implemented a comprehensive operational transformation across 16 sites. This delivered a doubling of profits within two years while building internal capabilities for autonomous continuous improvement.
Industry: Food & Beverage
Service: Manufacturing
Service: Operational Excellence
Service: Operations Strategy and Transformation
Service: Supply Chain
Our Client
A major food manufacturing company primarily operating in the UK, with international operations.
It supplies products to UK supermarkets and has ambitious growth plans, targeting £8 billion in revenue through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions. With a complex network of production facilities, the company is a significant player in the UK food manufacturing sector.
16
Manufacturing sites
£600M
Conversion costs managed
“We needed to be credible on the stock exchanges. EFESO has been our transformation partner, not just a specialist in manufacturing or logistics.
“
The Challenge
The manufacturer faced a critical profitability crisis requiring immediate and comprehensive action across its entire operational network.
- Severe profit erosion: The company experienced a dramatic decline from £120 million profit in 2019 to £45 million post-COVID, threatening its credibility on stock exchanges and limiting growth investment capacity
- Complex transformation scope: Managing change across 16 sites presented significant coordination challenges, with varying levels of support for operational changes and different attitudes ranging from positive to negative among the large workforce
- Compressed timeline pressure: Starting six months into the financial year meant delivering significant savings within a shortened timeframe, while simultaneously building capabilities for sustainable improvement beyond consultant involvement
Real Results Achieved Together
The profit recovery program transformed operational performance across the company’s entire network. Working alongside site teams and leadership, we restored profitability while establishing sustainable improvement capabilities.
2X
Profit doubled in 18 months
3X
Share price increase
£80M
EBITDA improvement delivered
£100M
Savings plan achieved
Transformation Impact
- Achieved FTSE 250 market position by end of stage 1
- Built autonomous improvement capabilities enabling continued savings trajectory
- Positioned for strategic acquisition with proven transformation methodology
Our Approach
The transformation began with a comprehensive diagnostic focusing on core conversion costs, followed by board-level presentation establishing the savings roadmap.
We implemented KPI boosts—focused sprints driving rapid improvements across direct and indirect labor, OEE, waste reduction and S&OP optimization.
The program followed a boost-and-build methodology delivering immediate value in year one while simultaneously developing internal capabilities.
Teams were educated to speak the language of profit and loss, ensuring alignment from shop floor to boardroom. Knowledge transfer remained central throughout, with site-level ownership of improvements and progressive autonomy building.
The partnership extended beyond manufacturing into supply chain interventions in planning and logistics, positioning EFESO as transformation partners rather than functional specialists.
This integrated approach enabled rapid value delivery, despite starting mid-financial year, while establishing foundations for sustained improvement.
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Facing Similar Manufacturing Profitability Challenges?
- Struggling to recover margins while managing complex multi-site operations and workforce dynamics
- Seeking rapid EBITDA improvement through operational excellence without disrupting daily production
- Ready to build internal capabilities that sustain improvements beyond the transformation program
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