Brand Leadership Series
Entrepreneur of The Year
The Entrepreneurial Exchange’s 2007 Entrepreneur of the Year
Martin Lightbody, Managing Director of Lightbody Celebration Cakes & Director Finsbury Foods
In a 20-year career at the eponymous baker, Martin Lightbody has masterminded the transformation of a family business, founded in 1885, from being a relatively small high street operation into becoming an integral part of one of the UK's biggest cake producers.
Martin joined Lightbody in 1987, a member of the fourth generation of the family to work in the business, which he took charge of in 1993. Two years later, he sold Lightbody's 26 shops and refocused the firm on the business of making celebration cakes.
Over the next decade he established Hamilton-based Lightbody as the leading player in the fast-growing market to produce cakes decorated with famous characters such as Sponge Bob Squarepants. With licences to produce goods using Disney characters in the UK and continental Europe, Lightbody amassed sales of £50m annually. Around half came from licensed products. A £5m investment in a confectionery and bar plant helped limit reliance on celebration cakes, while the introduction of a new 160 metre-long bakery line capable of producing 1000 small cakes per minute boosted efficiency.
Finsbury Foods liked the story so much that the listed firm bought Lightbody for up to £37.5m in January. Martin Lightbody acquired a 30% stake in Finsbury as part of the deal, giving him the largest single holding in a firm with a strong portfolio of brands and licences generating turnover of approximately £140m.
In addition to being a main board director of Finsbury, he is pursuing his own interests including joint ventures in the US and China, along with the Party Fizz business in Europe. Martin received The Entrepreneurial Exchange’s Entrepreneur of the Year in November 2007.
"Finsbury Foods liked the story so much that the listed firm bought Lightbody for up to £37.5m in January. Martin Lightbody acquired a 30% stake in Finsbury as part of the deal, giving him the largest single holding in a firm with a strong portfolio of brands and licences generating turnover of approximately £140m."
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