Corpfin Capital sells El Fornet to the management team and Muzinich

Corpfin Capital has reached an agreement with the management team of El Fornet to sell its stake in the Company. This transaction marks the end of a more than 10-year period since Corpfin entered the coffee & bakery chain’s shareholding structure in December 2014.

Since then, the company has grown by opening more than 25 new stores, consolidating its position as one of the leading brands in the Catalan restaurant sector and demonstrating the team’s ability to successfully roll out the concept in Madrid, where it currently operates 9 stores. In parallel, the Company has developed additional business lines such as B2B sales (surpassing 500 active clients) and a catering service for companies and events, enabling El Fornet to close 2019 with more than EUR 37 million in revenue (compared to EUR 21 million in 2014).

The restrictions imposed during the pandemic, followed by the supply chain crisis caused by the war in Ukraine, led the Company to pause its expansion and store-opening strategy in 2020. During this period, El Fornet benefited from the support of its employees, suppliers, lenders and shareholders, including the entry in 2020 of the COVID-affected Companies Recapitalisation Fund (FONREC) managed by COFIDES. All of this has allowed the Company to return to its growth path since 2022, with expectations to reach close to EUR 40 million in sales by 2025.

The management team has been supported by Muzinich in the transaction, which is joining the shareholding structure of El Fornet as a reference partner to strengthen its capital structure and provide the Company with the necessary resources to continue its expansion strategy.

Gorka García, Managing Partner at Corpfin Capital, comments: “Our sincerest thanks to the team for their tremendous effort leading such an exciting growth project. This transaction further reinforces El Fornet’s positioning as a unique and profitable concept within the coffee & bakery segment, and we are confident that the Company has all the tools needed to continue the expansion it has successfully driven until now.”

For his part, Fernando de la Cruz, CEO of El Fornet, adds: “We can only express our deepest gratitude to Corpfin for their continuous strategic support over more than 10 years. We are very excited about Muzinich’s entry and the business prospects for this new stage.”