Baxters buys Fray Bentos for ‘undisclosed’ sum

Baxters secured the deal for an undisclosed sum and confirmed it now plans to “revitalise​” the brand, which is best known for its range of canned pies.

The firm also said that it plans to invest and develop the brand to extend its reach into the ambient meat market, which is likely to see the creation of jobs at its production facility in Fochabers in northern Scotland.

Investment Programme​

Audrey Baxter, chairman, Baxters Food Group said: “As a business, we have constantly sought out new opportunities most recently through successful acquisitions in Canada and Australia and we also invested in a new-build Polish manufacturing operation. Fray Bentos will provide an array of opportunities to develop our position in the UK market and internationally.​

“Manufacturing of the Fray Bentos products will transfer over the next 12 months to our Fochabers production facility. A substantial capital investment programme has also been approved to enable all the plant, machinery and production lines to be housed on-site​.”

Scottish rural affairs secretary, Richard Lochead welcomed the deal and called on more companies to match Baxters’ ambitions.

He said: “It's great to see this iconic Scottish company going from strength to strength, growing and investing in Scotland. The jobs and investment in Fochabers are further proof – if it was ever needed – that Scotland is at the heart of the global food business. ​

"I want to see more companies matching Baxter's plans for growth and I applaud them for their continued ambition.” ​

Competition Commission​

Princes inherited the Fray Bentos brand after securing a deal with Premier Foods for all its canned operations in July.

Premier agreed to sell its canned grocery operations to the firm in a £182M deal in February which also included the brands Crosse & Blackwell and Smedley’s.

However, following the deal, Princes immediately announced that it was looking to offload the Fray Bentos business to avoid it being referred to the Competition Commission. This came after the Office of Fair Trading warned of competition concerns in the UK canned pie market.

Princes had been running Fray Bentos independently from the rest of the business while it continued to search for a buyer; something experts feared may have been a long process.

Speaking in September, Julian Wild, food group director at Rollits, said: “There are fewer deals and fewer buyers about; buyers are being much more selective. With Fray Bentos, when was the last time you bought canned meat?​”

Baxters was advised on the deal by corporate finance specialists McQueen and will now add the Fray Bentos brand to its products, which include soups, savoury sauces, preserves and salad accompaniments.