London-listed Cake Box gets fully baked offer from Australia

Cake Box Holdings, the London-listed bakery chain, has received a takeover approach from a privately owned Australian group.

Sky News has learnt that The Cheesecake Shop has tabled a 160p-a-share proposal to buy the British company.

City sources said the bid, which has not been publicly disclosed, was unlikely to gain support from the Cake Box board.

It was unclear on Wednesday evening whether any discussions were ongoing between the two companies.

Cake Box trades from about 230 stores across the UK, and floated in London in 2018 at a price of 108p-a-share.

However, it was hit by an audit crisis in 2022 after admitting "inconsistencies" in its financial reporting.

Last month, the company said full-year earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) had fallen by nearly a quarter, adding that inflation was starting to soften "which will support margin progression over the medium term".

The company continues to be run by Sukh Chamdal, its chief executive and co-founder.

Shares in Cake Box closed on Wednesday at 150p, down about a fifth during the last year, and very sharply down from their post-IPO peak.

The Cheesecake Shop is owned by Melbourne-based private equity firm River Capital, and trades from approximately 225 stores, according to its website.

A spokesman for Cake Box declined to comment.

-sky news