Uniq’s pension fund has appointed financial advisor Spayne Lindsay to sell its 90.2% holding in the chilled foods firm, which it only acquired from on March 24, while ceo Geoff Eaton told FoodManufacture.co.uk he feels "unconstrained" after...
Somerset food manufacturer Framptons says that a planned new building will allow it to harness continued business growth, as it predicts a 2011 turnover of £30m up from £25m last year.
Union leaders have expressed concerns about Ranjit Boparan’s intentions after he completes his £342m takeover of Northern Foods and begins to identify cost savings that could mean office closures or job losses.
Premium desserts supplier Rhokett says it plans to double turnover in the next three to five years, following the opening of an 8,000 sq ft factory in November.
Uniq Desserts has confirmed that up to 85 management and production roles at its desserts site in Minsterley could go after the firm lost a £10m desserts contract in January.
Ranjit Boparan is one step closer to taking over Northern Foods after announcing yesterday that he now controls over 70% of the convenience food group’s shares, although one analyst said the industrial logic of a tie-up with Greencore would have been...
Under-investment was the reason why Quorn failed to realise its full potential under Premier Foods, the meat-free firm's ceo Kevin Brennan has told FoodManufacture.co.uk.
Staff at Headland Foods’ factory in Flint – scheduled for closure in April – could be thrown a lifeline following reports that a food manufacturing company is interested in buying the plant.
Greencore said this morning that it does not intend to make a revised offer for Northern Foods to rival Ranjit Boparan’s 73p/share offer, which means the Midlands businessman is one step closer to tying the knot with Northern shareholders by March 16th.
Premier Foods plans to close its distribution centre in Chandler’s Ford, Hampshire as it rationalises its south coast operations, while the firm has also rebuffed rumours of a management change.
The battle between food titans Greencore and Ranjit Boparan to take over Northern Foods could still go right to the wire, despite the expiry today of a deadline set by the latter for Northern's shareholders to formally accept his bid.
Solid branded and own-label growth in 2010 consumer food sales saw Kerry Foods see off rising ingredient costs, cautious shoppers and a tough promotional climate.
Greencore is under pressure to table a viable counter-bid by March 2 to beat Ranjit Boparan in the struggle to takeover Northern Foods, but still has advantages on its side if it does do so, says one City analyst.
Industry concerns are growing about a possible amendment to the EU Food Information Regulation (FIR) that will require all foods frozen, then defrosted before sale, to be labelled ‘defrosted’.
Chicken tycoon Ranjit Boparan is pumping £30m into new coated products factory for 2 Sisters in Thetford in a bid to increase its presence in the prepared food sector.
With Greencore’s proposed engagement to Northern Foods now looking decidedly rocky, it might make sense for bosses to turn their attention to Premier Foods’ own-label bakery and prepared foods businesses, Avana Bakeries and RF Brookes, according to City...
A deal that will see Uniq tackle its gaping pension fund deficit by handing over more than 90% of its shares to its pension scheme has finally been cleared after months of negotiations.
While Greencore could find it hard to trump Ranjit Boparan’s 73p-a-share offer for Northern Foods on its own, it could always team up with another buyer to seal the deal, according to City analysts.
Implementing lean practices established at Greencore across Northern Foods sites could generate additional cost savings that have “not yet been fully quantified” were the two to merge, Greencore has argued.
All eyes are now on Greencore as investors and City analysts alike wait to see if the Irish firm can offer anything more compelling than Ranjit Boparan’s 73p a share cash offer for Northern Foods.
The fact that Uniq has finally pencilled in a firm date by which it aims to resolve its pension problems has tempered disappointment over contract losses at its Minsterley desserts factory.
If he does succeed in breaking up Northern Foods’ arranged marriage with Greencore, Ranjit Boparan will need to prove he can build better relationships with supermarkets than the current management to re-build the firm's reputation, according to...
Novel high pressure processing (HPP) technology has enabled Milton Keynes-based start-up Deli 24 to increase the shelf-life of its chilled dairy and meat snacks from two weeks to 50 days, bosses have revealed.
Chilled convenience firm Uniq said Christmas trading was “close to expectations” in the fourth quarter with a weaker performance in desserts (down 1.7%) offset by a strong performance in food-to-go (up 8.3%).
General Mills is seeking a partner to help it develop "transformational fruit for yogurt products" that is visibly and texturally superior to the fruit on offer in existing products, without compromising its clean-label credentials.
Contracts are being finalised on an exciting new project exploring how super-chilling foods could help manufacturers reduce costs and increase product shelf-life.
The entrepreneur contemplating breaking up the arranged marriage between Northern Foods and Greencore has been told to put up or shut up by January 21.
Although lucrative, the soups and sauces sector is still ruled by tradition. So how are manufacturers attempting to modernise this sedate category? Anne Bruce finds out
Pork pie manufacturer Pork Farms has doubled the capacity of the data capture system at its Queen’s Drive factory in Nottingham so that it covers the entire site.
Being able to spot a developing trend is important in any facet of business and none more so than the sandwich trade. Michelle Knott reports on the booming business of street food, novel ingredients and local heroes
Premier Foods is in advanced negotiations with two potential buyers over the sale of its meat-free business, but has received bids from a number of parties, including “multinational food groups and private equity firms".
Demand planning accuracy at Lactalis-Nestlé Chilled Dairy UK has surged 10% to 85% over the past two years leading to a significant improvement in availability and a huge drop in waste in a category in which 70% of volumes are now sold on promotion.
Trade unions are seeking urgent meetings with bosses at Northern Foods and Greencore in a bid to clarify how the proposed £40m synergy savings will be extracted if the two merge.
Essenta Foods, the new business to be created from the merger of Northern Foods and Greencore, will be divided into four divisions with two bosses selected from each company.
While the proposed merger of Northern Foods and Greencore will inevitably mean job losses at both companies, it is unlikely to result in scores of factory closures, City analysts have predicted.
While the supermarkets have expressed “some interest” in the re-opening of the mothballed Fenland Foods factory, Northern Foods has been unable to secure firm commitments from any of them that would justify spending the £30-40m it would cost to make this...
Dr Oetker is selling its Onken yogurt brand to Swiss dairy giant Emmi Group and withdrawing its Dr Oetker-branded mousses and desserts from the UK market on the grounds that it lacks sufficient scale to make headway in the chilled ready-to-eat desserts...
“Did you know that most of the pies we sell at Peter’s have fewer calories than a supermarket sandwich with mayo?” says Peter’s new pie meister Neil Court-Johnston. “I wonder how many people realise that?”
Northern Foods is now contemplating selling its Fenland Foods factory in Grantham after using it as a testing ground for new technologies to be installed at its other sites.
Neil Court-Johnston has been named as the new md of the foodservice division at pie, pasty and sausage roll-maker Peter’s, five months after his controversial exit from Holland’s Pies.
Uniq has unveiled plans to tackle the £436m hole in its pension scheme with a deficit-for-equity swap that will deliver 90% of the company's equity to the pension fund.
A complex piece of financial restructuring that Premier Foods claims will further improve the health of its balance sheet has been greeted by City analysts as a “welcome step forward” for the heavily indebted company.
