Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) of UK companies featuring overseas buyers increased by a whopping 71% in the first quarter of 2014, compared with the same quarter in 2013, according to Trefor Griffith, partner at financial advisory firm Grant Thornton.
Shazans Foods has secured funds that will boost growth and enable it to break into the chilled food arena for the first time via a deal with One Stop Halal.
Frank Dale Foods has secured £675,000 to fund the creation of 15 jobs and double its turnover to £7M in the next five years, according to chairman Nigel Cushion.
The food industry’s big players are seeking to acquire smaller ingredients firms in a bid to capitalise on high-growth sectors of the market, according to a mergers and acquisitions (M&A) report from Catalyst Corporate Finance.
A “dinosaur attitude” is causing food and drink manufacturers to miss out on the benefits of integrating sustainability into their businesses, according to the boss of malt manufacturer Muntons.
Banks are restricting small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) by not offering the finance needed for growth – even if they have secured retail contracts, according food manufacturers.
Premier Foods now has “the brightest outlook for a decade”, after re-engineering its balance sheet with a major refinancing plan, says City analyst Shore Capital.
Thorntons aims to pump £10M each year for the next three years into expanding capacity in its biggest capital investment in 25 years, it confirmed in a conference call.
Tortilla chips firm It’s All Good (IAG) has won £3.5M worth of investment from NVM Private Equity to invest in production and challenge bigger premium brands such as Tyrrells.
Further details of a Premier Foods’s debt reduction deal did not surprise City analysts, although they claimed the press reports represented little real progress.
Cake and bread bakery goods manufacturer Finsbury Food Group predicts profit will be in line with market expectations in the first half of its current financial year, ended December 28 2013.
Increasing volumes and improving efficiencies are the two main priorities in the year ahead for Karro Food Group, which was formed following a management buyout of Vion’s pork division last December.
Morrisons’ boss Dalton Philips said the supermarket’s growth would come from expansion of its convenience and online businesses, in a statement accompanying the retailer’s half-year results posted yesterday (September 12).
The Bank of England must provide better financial support for small to medium-sized (SMEs) and start-up food and drink businesses to boost growth, according to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).
North Yorkshire-based pork supplier the Karro Food Group plans to step up investment in the UK and abroad, after agreeing a new £60M funding package with finance firm GE Capital.
Finsbury Food Group is stepping up investment in its core UK bakery division as it slashes debt and announces strong profits in an annual pre-close financial statement.
Britain’s third largest supermarket Sainsbury has taken full control of Sainsbury’s Bank, after acquiring the remaining 50% shareholding from Lloyds Banking Group for £248M.
Dairy Crest's liquid milk contract renewal with Sainsbury, which is expected to stabilise its dairy business over the coming years, has been welcomed by analysts.
Premier Foods' "short and sweet" trading statement issued yesterday (January 17) reveals the progress senior management is making in reviving the fortunes of the debt-laden food manufacturer, according to City analysts.
Arla's investment in a bespoke butter facility at Westbury in Wiltshire, is allowing the company to extend its UK manufactured butter offering with production of Anchor block butter, which began at the site in August.
Morrisons’ “ridiculous” plans to secure savings of half a million pounds from each of its suppliers and improved buying terms are proving difficult to implement, informed sources have told FoodManufacture.co.uk.
Speculation has emerged over the past month that chilled own-label food manufacturer Bakkavör could be the subject of a takeover bid following its troubled recent history
Lack of investment from risk-adverse bankers is threatening food and drink manufacturers’ ability to spearhead the export-led economic recovery long predicted by government ministers.
Premier Foods still has “a long way to go” following its key re-financing deal, according to city analysts, after the firm revealed a 29% fall in trading profit last year.
British banks’ failure to understand the food manufacturing sector is choking industry innovation, warned speakers at a conference in London this week.
Premier Foods has confirmed that it has secured a new four-and-half-year re-financing package with its lenders that will allow the firm to continue its recovery after a troubled 2011.
The policing of food industry employment standards could suffer if the Gangmasters Licensing Authority's (GLA's) remit widens while its budget is cut, as is feared.
Premier Foods is hosting an investor day today (Friday) with the aim of convincing sceptical analysts and investors that its business strategy is sound.
The City is uncertain about Ranjit Boparan’s plans for Northern Foods, with analysts divided on whether he needs to sell brands such as Fox's Biscuits and Goodfella's to pay down debt following his £342m takeover.
The English fishing industry has secured a £1.9m EU funding award that will be used to improve fish processing factories in Devon and North Shields, in addition to other schemes.
Devonshire Desserts - the newly created company that has acquired the plant, machinery and freehold of the former PoleStar desserts factory at Okehampton - is part of the Country Style Foods group led by md Joe Wood, FoodManufacture.co.uk has learnt.
Angry staff at PoleStar Foods’ desserts factory in Okehampton are looking for answers from bosses as to why they are now out of a job just weeks after being told the site’s future had been secured “for many years to come”.
Securing financing at a reasonable rate to support food manufacturers' growth ambitions is not getting any easier, according to delegates at Food Manufacture’s business leaders’ round table debate this year.
