Ole & Steen

What Ole & Steen does

Ole & Steen is a premium Danish bakery and food-service chain operating 70 physical retail stores across Denmark and the United Kingdom, founded in 2016. The company sells freshly baked bread, pastries, and related food products, positioning itself as an 'all-day bakery' concept that serves consumers across all meal occasions rather than only breakfast. Its primary customer segment is retail consumers seeking quality bakery products in a sit-down or grab-and-go format, with operations spanning European markets (Denmark) and a growing UK footprint anchored in London.

The company is wholly owned by Nordic Capital, a Stockholm-based private equity firm that has held the asset since its 2017 funding round alongside co-investor L Catterton Europe. Under CEO Jason Cotta, Ole & Steen operates a retail-led business model generating revenue through in-store sales at company-operated bakery locations, with no publicly disclosed pricing model. Distribution is exclusively through physical storefronts in high-street retail locations, supported by a digital presence via the official website (oleandsteen.co.uk). No technology products, software platforms, or proprietary AI/ML systems are disclosed in the available source material, consistent with the asset's identity as a traditional retail food-service operator rather than a technology-enabled business.

Nordic Capital is currently exploring a potential sale of Ole & Steen, with the transaction reportedly capable of fetching several hundred million euros. This process indicates the asset is being positioned as an established, scaled retail platform with sufficient operating maturity to attract strategic or financial acquirers, rather than a high-growth venture-stage company.

Name

Ole & Steen

Legal name

Ole & Steen

Website

https://oleandsteen.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Ole & Steen is a premium Danish bakery chain operating 70 retail stores across Denmark and the UK, selling freshly baked bread, pastries, and all-day food to general consumers under Nordic Capital ownership.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Bakery Retail

NAICS

Retail Bakeries (311811)

SIC

Retail-Food Stores (5400)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYCRAHAGAC

Bread & Pastry Specialty Stores

Consumer Products & Retail/Grocery & Food Retail/Specialty Food Stores (Deli, Cheese, Gourmet, Bakery)

Keywords

• Artisan bakery products
• Danish pastry chain
• Bakery retail stores
• All-day dining bakery
• Fresh baked goods

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Ole & Steen is an all-day Danish bakery chain operating physical retail bakery locations that sell freshly baked bread, pastries, and related food products to consumers. The concept provides bakery items across all meal occasions, combining Danish-inspired recipes and quality with grab-and-go and dine-in service formats.

Product overview

Ole & Steen is an all-day Danish bakery chain. As a retail bakery business, it operates physical bakery locations offering bread, pastries, and related food products. The company is owned by Nordic Capital, a Stockholm-based private equity firm. No specific named product modules, technology products, or software-as-a-service offerings are identified in the available source data.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• All-day Danish bakery offering

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Gail's Bakery: UK-based premium bakery and all-day dining chain operating ~100+ stores in London and major UK cities. Directly competes with Ole & Steen for premium grab-and-go, bread, and all-day bakery occasions in the same UK geographies.
• Paul UK: French patisserie and bakery café chain with a significant UK retail footprint. Comparable to Ole & Steen as a European-origin specialty bakery chain selling bread, viennoiserie, and café fare to UK consumers.
• Le Pain Quotidien: International all-day bakery-café concept with organic menu and communal dining. Closely matches Ole & Steen's all-day bakery dining positioning and European heritage-led brand identity.
• Joe & The Juice: Danish-origin all-day café and juice bar chain with strong UK and global presence. Comparable to Ole & Steen through shared Danish heritage, premium positioning, and all-day urban consumer targeting.
• Bread Ahead: London-based artisan bakery and baking school with multiple retail locations. Comparable as a premium UK bakery brand competing for the same occasion and consumer wallet.
• St. Peter's Bakery / Lagkagehuset: Danish-origin bakery chain with UK presence offering bread, pastries, and café seating. Closely comparable to Ole & Steen on heritage, product mix, and dual Denmark/UK geographic footprint.

Broad incumbents

• Pret a Manger: Large UK grab-and-go chain with a significant bakery, sandwich, and coffee offering. Overlaps with Ole & Steen's grab-and-go daypart and urban UK consumer base, though at a much broader scale and more mass-market positioning.
• Caffè Nero: UK coffee-led café chain with strong bakery lines and high-street locations. Competes for the same all-day café/bakery occasions as Ole & Steen, though anchored on coffee rather than bakery authenticity.
• Greggs: UK's largest bakery chain with thousands of locations. Represents the mass-market end of the UK bakery spectrum, defining consumer price expectations that premium concepts like Ole & Steen must differentiate above.
• Panera Bread: US all-day bakery-café chain operating at scale with a similar 'bakery + café all day' concept. Useful comparable for format scalability and unit economics benchmarking.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/OleandSteenUK

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ole & Steen