Nordic Capital explores sale of Lagkagehuset as performance improves

Lagkagehuset, the Danish bakery-café chain known as Ole & Steen in the UK and U.S., is back in ownership talks just as its trading has started to look stronger. Nordic Capital is exploring a sale of the business, which runs more than 100 stores in Denmark and roughly 30 more across Britain and America, a move that could decide how fast the brand expands next and how tightly it manages its premium position.

The timing matters. Lagkagehuset was founded in 2008 through the merger of Ole Kristoffersen and Steen Skallebaek’s bakeries, both of which date to the early 1990s. Nordic Capital bought the chain in 2017, and later that year L Catterton took a 20% minority stake. That means any new transaction would not be rescuing a distressed asset. It would be trying to buy into a chain that has already done the hard work of stabilizing itself.

The numbers from 2025 explain why the asset looks more attractive now than it did a year earlier. Lagkagehuset posted record annual revenues, EBITDA rose 68%, and net losses fell by DKK 85 million as efficiency improved, digital sales grew and footfall strengthened store-level profitability. In other words, the turnaround story is already visible in the tills and the ledger, which is exactly the point where private equity starts thinking about a second act.

For customers, the big question is what a new owner would do with the brand architecture. In Denmark, Lagkagehuset is a large, familiar bakery-café with scale. In London and New York City, Ole & Steen is the smaller international face of the same concept, and a buyer could choose to push that name harder, open more stores, or hold back and refine the portfolio first. Either path would affect how many sites get opened, how quickly the chain moves into new neighborhoods, and how much of its premium bakery identity it tries to protect as it grows.

The latest available company figures show why that decision still carries risk. Lagkagehuset’s 2024 revenue was DKK 1.1225 billion, with EBIT of minus DKK 7.786 million and a net loss of DKK 101.885 million. Equity stood at DKK 103.042 million, debt obligations at DKK 473.874 million, and the workforce at about 2,640 employees. A sale now would test whether that improved footing becomes a springboard for international growth or a prompt for tighter, more cautious brand management.