The Maloney Group has scooped up the majority of shares in ice cream manufacturer BICO Limited.
Businessman Mark Maloney, executive chairman of the Barbados-based investment and development enterprise, confirmed this yesterday and said his group was committed to investing, modernising and expanding the company which also owns and operates the country’s largest cold storage facility – located at the Bridgetown Port.
Longstanding executive chairman Edwin Thirlwell, who is 90 years old, recently retired from BICO, ending a more than 30-year relationship with the company. Reports indicate that Thirlwell sold his shares to the Maloney Group.
Maloney announced in a statement from the group that it has “amalgamated its interests with BICO’s existing shareholders, with The Maloney Group emerging as the majority holder”.
The group said that the combination “opens a new chapter for BICO, supporting accelerated growth, operational excellence and regional expansion”.
It added that the amalgamation “pairs BICO’s heritage, brand strength and customer loyalty with the Maloney Group’s operational depth, capital and regional reach”.
“BICO will adopt advanced systems and best-practice management drawn from across the group’s portfolio – reducing costs, lifting productivity and building a more resilient, scalable business,” the group shared.
“This is a proud moment for the Maloney Group and a powerful endorsement of BICO’s heritage and future potential.
Long-term success
“By combining our shareholding with that of the existing owners, we are committing to BICO’s long-term success – investing, modernising and expanding, while preserving everything that makes the brand special,” Maloney said.
BICO general manager Audley Grimes also commented on the change in majority ownership.
“Mark Maloney’s experience across real estate, finance, hospitality, manufacturing and infrastructure will provide invaluable strategic guidance,” he said.
“Together with our continuing shareholders, this combination will help us unlock new levels of innovation, efficiency and market reach, and deliver outstanding benefits for our employees, customers and stakeholders.”
The Maloney Group said that combined ownership was “expected to support geographic expansion beyond Barbados, product diversification, and continued investment in talent and technology, while attracting further high-quality investors to fuel BICO’s growth”.
Established in 1901, BICO is a publicly listed company, with its shares trading on the Barbados Stock Exchange. Its 2025 annual report listed shareholders with more than five per cent of issued common shares.
Minority shareholders own equity
These were Nordev One Limited (555 809 shares), Windsong Investments Limited (469 852), Nordev Two Limited (225 366), Sagicor (Equity) Fund (172 235), and Bajan Vending Inc. (119 882). There are also a number of minority shareholders who own equity in BICO.
The change in the controlling interest of BICO, which was founded in 1901, comes more than three years after the Fair Trading Commission (FTC) denied a proposed sale to Trinidad and Tobago’s HADCO Group, owner of Creamery Novelties Limited, on the grounds that the merger would “result in a substantial lessening of competition”.
BICO argued then that it was competing against at least 30 ice cream brands sold in Barbados, and that Chefette Limited’s entry into the market with its Frosteez brand was now its “major competitor”. Thirlwell had also warned prospective buyers that following the FTC’s denial, there would be no “fire sale” of BICO.
With the Maloney Group now in control, sources said BICO staff were anxious to get details on the company’s future direction and leadership following Thirlwell’s departure, whose tenure included the construction and commissioning of a new manufacturing plant after the previous one was destroyed by fire.
In BICO’s 2025 annual report, Thirlwell said on behalf of the directors that the last financial year ended September 30, “was marked by volatility, as anticipated, with heightened competition across our core ice-cream market segments”.
The company recorded a seven per cent increase in revenue, but incurred a $317 188 loss, which the directors’ report attributed mainly to “persistently high energy costs, which are projected to increase further, and the escalating cost of imported inputs”.
Published statement
BICO’s published unaudited income statement for the second quarter ended March 31, reported that the company’s revenue, including the Harbour Cold Store, was $4.3 million, up $573 592 over the same period last year, but there was a net loss of $147 853 compared with a $282 237 profit in the same quarter in 2025.
BICO’s distribution, administration, and engineering expenses increased by a combined $465 031 in the quarter.
However, on a half-year basis, the company earned a $192 959 profit in the first six months of financial year 2026, down from the $271 430 netted in the first six months of financial year 2025.
Half-year revenue from sales and the cold store was $8.76 million, a $1.16 million increase over the same six month period last year, based on the income statement. (SC)
