Chocolate and confectionery company Yowie Group has acquired Australia’s oldest chocolate house, Ernest Hillier for $375,000. Yowie bought its parent company, Chocolate and Confectionery Company (CCC), which went into voluntary administration in June.
At the time, administrators Alan Walker and Glenn Livingstone from WLP Restructuring Partners said they were looking for urgent expressions of interest to recapitalise or acquire the business and its assets because 20 employees had been stood down.
Chocolate & Confectionery Company went
into voluntary administration in June.
CCC owned the Earnest Hillier and Newman’s brands. Yowie has acquired the plant, equipment, and all related IP, including business names and brands.
Yowie is not assuming any of the existing liabilities.
Yowie Group chair Sean Taylor said the acquisition both preserved an iconic Australian chocolate manufacturing business and provided greater control over Yowie’s future by adding premium chocolate to its portfolio.
“The addition of the Ernest Hillier business enables us to further expand our product range of premium Australian chocolates, providing greater control over the production of our products. We are excited about the future potential that this acquisition provides,” Taylor said.
CCC’s distribution network spanned Australia and New Zealand, including contracts with major supermarket chains including Woolworths, Coles, and Aldi. CCC also produced white-label chocolates for some of the world’s largest confectionery providers from its 4000 sqm manufacturing facility in Coburg, Melbourne.
