Vectis Capital, an Africa-focused private equity fund, has acquired a majority stake in leading Nigerian snacks and baked goods manufacturer Leventis Foods for $12m.

Leventis Foods, part of the long established Nigerian conglomerate AG Leventis, is one of the largest bakeries in Nigeria. The company was founded in 2001 and owns brands including Val-U bread (packaged bread), Family Loaf, Wheat Loaf and Midi Loaf (baked goods), Meaty sausage rolls, Diamond Cake, 4me Choco and Boston Donut, Hotty and Mini Hotty spicy rolls. Its 12,000m² factory in Apapa, Lagos has a bread production capacity of 60,000 loaves per day and 3,500 cartons of pastries.

Leventis Foods plans to use the investment to improve its manufacturingm logistics infrastructure, and distribution capacity. The company points to the fact that per capita bread consumption is just 10kg per year, a quarter that of South Africa’s, in what is just a $2bn market annually.