Pip & Nut, the maker of Britain’s bestselling nut butter, has hired advisers at the US investment bank Piper Sandler to explore its options, according to a report, with City sources suggesting a sale could value the business at up to £100m.

A formal sale process has not yet been launched, it is understood. Pip & Nut and Piper Sandler did not comment.

The company sells peanut and almond butters and a range of snack bars through the major supermarkets. According to recent grocery industry data, it now outsells Sun-Pat and overtook Whole Earth in sales in 2025 to take the No 1 spot.

Sales and profit

Sales rose by about 50 per cent to £26.3m in 2025, the company’s accounts show. It made a pre-tax profit of £104,000, against a loss of £325,000 in 2024.

The growth came alongside an advertising campaign on billboards across the London Underground and in Leeds. A secondary share sale on the crowdfunding platform Crowdcube earlier this year valued the company at £72m.

While Pip & Nut is best known for its nut butters, cereal and protein bars now account for almost a fifth of its sales. In 2025, founder Pippa Murray said she expected the bars could one day become the largest part of the business. The company has also launched a chocolate hazelnut spread to compete with Nutella.

Its nut butters contain no palm oil, so the natural oils separate from the butter in the jar and the product must be mixed with a knife or spoon before serving.

Potential buyers

Sources suggested that potential buyers could include large consumer goods groups such as Intersnack, the German owner of KP Snacks; the US food company Mars; or Mondelez, the parent company of Cadbury.

According to the report, large food companies that buy challenger brands tend to value them on growth and potential for scale rather than current earnings. The assumption is that they can widen a brand’s reach and bring down its costs by plugging it into their existing distribution networks.

Mondelez paid £200m for the snack bar brand Grenade in 2021, about 3.8 times Grenade’s turnover at the time, the report said. In its announcement of the Grenade deal, Mondelez did not disclose terms and said it planned to run the business separately, with its senior leadership staying in place.

Murray founded the company in 2013 after setting out to create a “clean label” peanut butter while she was training for a marathon. When Business Matters profiled Murray in 2015, she described the company as five months old and stocked in more than 275 stores.

In October 2025, Murray won the Impact Award at the LDC Top 50 Most Ambitious Business Leaders awards, which recognised the business as a certified B Corp.

The company’s investors include Giles Brook, a former chief executive of the coconut water brand Vita Coco, who also serves as Pip & Nut’s chair. Brook has been a director of the company since January 2019, according to Companies House records.

Brook has backed scores of challenger brands, including the eco-friendly toilet paper firm Cheeky Panda and the gut health brand Bio&Me.

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