Insider Media Limited

A Corby tableware company has been sold to US-based Lifetime Brands. The sale of Creative Tops, which was advised by Lincolnshire's Bishopsgate Corporate Finance, will boost its expansion plans into new markets, said Lifetime.

The company specialises in supplying kitchenware and table top appliances from its Northamptonshire base and Hong Kong-located subsidiary.

Lifetime Brands' portfolio includes KitchenAid and Farberware barands.

The acquisition, which also includes Creative Tops’ Hong Kong branch CTFE, will "significantly broaden" the Creative Tops product range and introduce its ranges to new retailers across North and Central America.

Creative Tops supplies brands like V&A, Katie Alice and The Royal Botanic Gardens.

Managing director of Creative Tops, Patricia Dawson, said: “Lifetime Brands already operates a number of world-renowned brands and many famous household names.

"This acquisition will enable the company to offer our customers a far more extensive product range outside of our current offering and will also help strengthen our existing brand portfolio."

Creative Tops' UK senior management team will remain with the company once the deal completes, and the company will be run autonomously in the UK. No changes will be made to the way it operates on a day-to-day basis, said Lifetime.

The US company's chairman, president and chief executive Jeffrey Siegel said the acquisition of Creative Tops and CTFE represented "a compelling, multifaceted opportunity" that will allow the company to grow.

Bishopsgate Corporate Finance acted on the deal.

Lead Advisor Tom Spencer said: “We believe the Creative Tops acquisition will provide a major platform for Lifetime Brands’ expansion into European markets.

"Creative Tops has been a real success story in the UK tableware market and we wish the management team every success in the next phase of its exciting growth story."

Details of the acquisition were not disclosed.