Pasta King

Who owns Pasta King?

Pasta King was owned by Mobeus Equity Partners through Mobeus VCTs (1998 vintage) from 2001 to 2009, exited via Trade Sale.

Buyer identity available on Pro.

Hand-verified · updated 2026-06-01

About Pasta King

Pasta King is a Newton Abbot, Devon based foodservice company that manufactures freshly made sauces and ready-to-eat pasta and rice meals for the United Kingdom catering market. Positioned in the branded grab-and-go segment, it supplies education, healthcare, business, leisure and events caterers with nutritious hot meals prepared from more than forty handmade sauces produced in accredited kitchens. The company operates from a production facility in Newton Abbot with distribution reaching customers across the country. It markets itself as a leading provider of branded grab-and-go meals in the UK foodservice sector, having grown from a niche events supplier into a national catering brand.

Ownership journey

Pasta King was founded in 1994 as a family business in Devon to offer a healthier fast-food alternative, beginning by supplying pasta meals to the events market before expanding into contract catering. From 2001 the business was backed by the Mobeus VCTs, managed by Mobeus Equity Partners, which supported its shift from events catering into the wider institutional foodservice channel. Mobeus held the investment through the decade of expansion that followed. The firm exited in 2009 via a trade sale, and no further Mobeus involvement has been recorded.

Under PE ownership

During the Mobeus ownership period the company scaled its output sharply, moving from around one million meals a year in 2001 to roughly six million by 2004 and about fourteen million by 2006, per its own published history. It broadened distribution from the events circuit into schools, universities, hospitals, workplaces and leisure venues, building a repeatable branded catering model around freshly made sauces. Manufacturing was consolidated at the Newton Abbot facility, and the company reached the milestone of its hundred millionth meal in 2010, shortly after the investor exit. The period established Pasta King as a recognised national foodservice brand rather than a regional events caterer.