The family-owned firm from Wythenshawe is considering a potential acquisition of the Hartley’s brand, which has been widely touted as the next disposal at Premier as it seeks to restore the business and tackle soaring debt.
A spokesperson for Premier said that the firm would not comment on any future disposal at this stage despite Duerr’s confirming an interest in Hartley’s, which has been valued at up to £200M.
Investigating opportunities
Mark Duerr, Duerr’s md, said: "As the biggest independent jam producer in the UK, we are investigating opportunities related to the sale of Hartley's.
“If the business can align with our proud heritage, quality and history of innovation then naturally we would be interested, but it would be inappropriate to speculate on this, without fully evaluating the business."
FoodManufacture.co.uk reported that Premier’s spreads business, which includes Hartley’s jam, was up for sale earlier this month, with city analysts describing it as a “logical disposal”.
The news followed the £30M sale of the Brookes Avana business to Ranjit Boparan’s 2 Sisters Food and the sale of the firm’s Irish businesses to the Boyne Valley Group in December last year.
Premier, under the leadership of md Michael Clarke, is focussing on its eight Power Brands and has confirmed that it is looking to offload a number of its divisions in a bid to stabilise the business.