Typhoo Tea has said being taken over by a private equity firm will help it focus on its recovery with "new vigour" following an "extremely challenging" 18-month period.
The Moreton-headquartered company has reported its latest financial results following its acquisition by Zetland Capital Partners in July 2021.
The newly-filed accounts show the firm's revenue totalled £54.5m for the 18 months to September 30, 2021, while its pre-tax losses were £10.4m.
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Those figures compare to the £53.1m in revenue it reported for the 12 months to March 31, 2020, and the pre-tax losses of £15.8m.
The company's brands also include Glengettie, Ridgeways, Heath & Heather, London Fruit & Herb, Lift, Melroses, Freshbrew and Red Mountain.
In July 2021 majority shareholder Apeejay Tea (Panama) Inc converted all of the debt it held in Typhoo into equity. That was then sold to a new majority shareholder, Karalius Limited.
Karalius is owned by Zetland Special Situations Fund II, which is managed by Zetland Capital Partners LLP, a private equity manager based in London.
A statement signed off by the board said: "The period to 30 September 2021 marked some significant changes within the corporate structure and financial position of Typhoo Tea Limited.
"The company chose to extend the accounting period by six months....to enable the full reporting of a transaction which resulted in a change in majority ownership of the company, a restructure of the external debt carried by the company, the capitalisation of shareholder debt and the injection of additional liquidity into the company."
The statement added: "In addition to this new investment, an existing investor also increased its stake within the company.
"The consequences of these changes in shareholding if that the company now has an aligned investor group who can support the executive management team in delivering on the potential the company ahs to offer."
It also said: "This new investment allowed the company to re-negotiate the value and terms of the term debt held by Axis Bank to allow the funding of the business to be structured to support the recovery path.
"In terms of trading, the 18 months to 30 September 2021 were extremely challenging given the worldwide support issues and lockdown impact brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.
"Whilst the business continued to produce and to trade throughout the pandemic, the impact on shopping habits (more online purchases), the closure of non-essential outlets and the restrictions on the out of home market had an adverse effect on the turnover of the company.
"In addition to the challenges driven out of the pandemic, the new strategic direction developed for the company, focusing on product rationalisation and the exit of loss making contracts, meant that the 18 months to 30 September 2021 delivered sales of £54.5m, which is only £1.4m greater than the 12 month period to 31 March 2020.
On its future, the company added: "15 July 2021 was an important moment in the future of Typhoo Tea Limited.
"The change in ownership, the strengthening of the balance sheet and the new investment afforded by the new shareholders will allow the company to focus on its recovery with new vigour.
"The company will continue to focus on core business, product rationalisation, manufacturing efficiencies and a focus on achieving acceptable levels of gross margin across the customer portfolio.
"The board of directors remain confident that the re-structure effected in 2020 and the change in ownership in 2021 will deliver significant improvement in performance and will affect the business turnaround required.
"Quality, value and customer service remain a key part of the new strategy whilst the simplification of the business and the drive on reducing costs, improving efficiencies and the introduction of new systems and controls will help facilitate its delivery.
"These changes, together with a continued investment in the Typhoo and Heath and Heather brands will enhance our brand propositions and further underpins the new business strategy going forward."
