Food manufacturing excellence awards
Gavin Darby
Gavin Darby replaced Michael Clarke as ceo of Premier Foods on February 4, 2013, following the latter’s shock departure on January 28.
Darby had big boots to fill. Clarke was highly respected and was hailed as “an effective leader to date” at the time he moved on by Shore Capital analysts Clive Black and Darren Shirley.
But Darby had a strong pedigree, having been ceo of Cable & Wireless Worldwide and before that UK chief executive of Vodafone. He had also spent 15 years in senior posts within different divisions of the Coca-Cola Company.
He met the challenge and hasn’t avoided tough decisions. In April, in a conference call covering first quarter figures to the end of March, he acknowledged Premier had too many suppliers, announcing plans to prune their numbers by up to 50%.
By September, solid progress was being made and Premier’s power brands, including Ambrosia and Mr Kipling, had recorded six successive quarters of growth to mid-2013.
Darby also presided over canny high-profile deals. In July 2013, a licensing agreement was struck for 2 Sisters Food Group to produce Premier Foods’s Hovis Breakfast Bakes biscuits to cut costs and improve customer service.
Former Investec analyst Martin Deboo responded: “I am increasingly impressed by the sensible, thoughtful things Gavin Darby has done. This is good business for Premier Foods.”
Then, in January this year, Premier launched its partnership with US-based Gores Group to run its troubled Hovis bread and flour business, enabling it to focus on other brands.
But Darby’s main achievement was steering Premier through its landmark refinancing deal under tremendous pressure, delivering better loan terms and continued cash flow.
Black and Shirley called the deal “transformational”. The company now had “the brightest outlook in a decade”, they said.
Full-year results released on March 4 showed pre-tax profit and sales up and net debt down by £120M to £831M.