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.
United Biscuits will become the “Cadbury” or “Kellogg” of the snack world, after big investments in production and marketing, pledges the manufacturer’s boss Martin Glenn.
The skills gap in the food and drink manufacturing sector has not shrunk, despite the latest government statistics showing that UK unemployment overall has fallen.
“The key driver should be the future integration of the business to add value to the whole,” Ben Mercer, partner corporate with the law firm, told the Food Manufacture Group’s Business Leaders’ Forum in London last week.
A flurry of UK food industry mergers and acquisitions (M&A) could take place in 2014 as sales already underway conclude and large firms seek to boost their equity.
Food industry mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are set to grow this year, with particular focus on mid-market activity in the UK, according to Ben Mercer, corporate partner with the law firm Stephenson Harwood.
Premier Foods’ £87.5M joint venture with the US-based Gores Group has drawn a mixed reception from leading City analysts, as the manufacturer confirmed trading profit for the year ended December 31 would be in line with market expectations.
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.
Trades union Usdaw said it was “saddened” to hear of the 140 job cuts planned at breakfast cereal giant Kellogg’s Wrexham factory, part of a global business restructure.
Bright Blue Foods aims to cut 57 jobs as it closes its Manchester bakery, which makes slab, loaf and Christmas cake, and shift production to other sites to improve efficiency.
Plunging world sugar prices hampered sales growth for Associated British Foods (ABF) in the first quarter of its current financial year, but its Twinings and Allied Bakeries brands delivered strong performances.
Alastair Macphie will become executive chairman of bakery ingredients firm Macphie later this year, following an 18-year stint as chief executive officer, as part of a management restructure.
Carr’s Milling has made a “solid” start to 2014, according to Investec analyst Nicola Mallard, confirming that its recently commissioned £17M mill in Kirkcaldy, Scotland, is performing as expected.
Premier Foods is to invest £20M in building a new production and packing line – capable of making 300M Mr Kipling cake slices a year – at its plant near Barnsley.
Reports that Premier Foods could be about to sell its Hovis brand to the Los Angeles-based Gores Group have been welcomed by City analysts Shore Capital.
Fresh prepared foods manufacturer Bakkavor has expressed disappointment at news that 600 of its workers at the Park Royal pizza plant in London are to be balloted over strike action, in a dispute with the GMB union over pay.
Food manufacturers should substitute sugar with other sweeteners more or face public shaming and risk missing significant commercial benefits, according to a prominent nutrition policy expert.
Fletchers Group of Bakeries has completed a £1M expansion of its cold storage facilities, doubling capacity and enhancing environmental and technical efficiencies at its dedicated foodservice business unit Kara.
The installation of Ishida’s latest snacks packing solution - 18-head multi-head weighers and Atlas bagmakers with advanced Ishida integrated Total Packaging Systems (iTPS) software - at Kolak Snack Foods in London, is helping to nearly triple output...
Grain D'Or - part of the Fletchers Group of Bakeries - has completed a £4M expansion of its food manufacturing facilities to increase production capacity by 40% and enhance technical standards
In recent years, acrylamide has triggered health concerns among food manufacturers and health authorities. To address these, Novozymes introduced the asparaginase Acrylaway in 2007: a product that is used industrially in more than 30 countries in products...
Premier Foods’ plans to sell its troubled Hovis plant bakery business should become clearer over the coming months, as news emerged towards the end of last year that a shortlist of three candidates were interested in buying or investing in the business.
Warburtons is planning to create 60 jobs by building a £20M bakery dedicated to its Sandwich Alternatives lines next to existing facilities at Billington Road, Burnley, Lancashire.
A cake resembling a Christmas turkey dinner has been created by UK baking ingredients manufacturer Renshaw and a Leicester-based professional cake decorator, in celebration of the festive season.
Television programmes, such as the BBC’s Great British Bake Off, have made the bakery sector “sexy” and fuelled an interest from young people to start careers within the food and drink industry.
Premier Foods may have to settle for a joint venture (jv) partner for its troubled Hovis bread business if it fails to secure an outright buyer, as it tries to reduce its mountain of debt and avoid the prospects breaching banking covenants.
United Biscuits has confirmed the loss of 76 jobs, as part of a restructuring that would create “a more streamlined, competitive and focused company”, it said.
Hundreds of food and drink industry professionals gathered at the Park Lane Hilton, in London to celebrate the 13th annual Food manufacturing excellence awards, last week (November 21).
Bright Blue Foods, formerly McCambridge Foods’ cake business, is investing millions in its facilities in Poland and Blackburn, having secured new funding and renamed itself, according to ceo Andrew Johnson.
United Biscuits has won the coveted title Environmental initiative of the year in the industry Oscars – Food Manufacture’s Food Manufacturing Excellence Awards (FMEAs).
Burton’s Biscuits, the maker of iconic snacks Wagon Wheels and Jammie Dodgers, has been sold to the Canadian pension fund Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTPP) for an undisclosed sum.
Rising energy and ingredient prices, changes to allergen labelling and misconceptions about the healthiness of bread are the biggest challenges facing the bakery sector.
In a story published on 13th November concerning a meeting of the creditors of Rivermill Ltd’s subsidiary Rivermill Foods Ltd, a bakery business in Hexham, Northumberland we incorrectly referred to a quite separate brand-licensing business carried on...
Weetabix’s new online sourcing system will help guarantee it secures the best suppliers to drive down costs and deliver international expansion plans, claims the cereal producer.
A lorry operated by Kingsmill owner Associated British Foods (ABF) became unexpectedly reunited with another division of the food and clothing giant, after wedging itself under one of Primark’s shopfront canopies in Cambridge this week.
Premier Foods’ tie-up with AAK, the fats and oils supplier, will double AAK’s volume sales to the branded foods manufacturer and could strengthen collaboration on areas including shelf-life and fat reduction.
