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Branston sold by Premier Foods to Japan's Mizkan | Branston sold by Premier Foods to Japan's Mizkan |
(35 minutes later) | |
Premier Foods has agreed to sell its Branston range of pickles and sauces to Japanese company Mizkan for £92.5m. | Premier Foods has agreed to sell its Branston range of pickles and sauces to Japanese company Mizkan for £92.5m. |
As well as the Branston products, the sale also includes the firm's factory at Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk. | As well as the Branston products, the sale also includes the firm's factory at Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk. |
The deal is set to be completed in 2013, when workers at the plant are expected to become Mizkan employees. | |
Premier Foods has been selling off a number of what it considers non-core brands, including Sarson's vinegar and Robertson's jam. | Premier Foods has been selling off a number of what it considers non-core brands, including Sarson's vinegar and Robertson's jam. |
It had run up debts of more than £1bn in recent years, and in March it secured more time from its banks to pay back its loans. | |
The firm has said it will concentrate on eight key brands, which include Oxo and Bisto. | |
href="http://www.premierfoods.co.uk/news-&-media/press-releases/press-release.cfm?i=B07DAE0C-1851-505D-DF68-03122D0EEE36" >Premier Foods said its latest sale meant it had raised about £370m in sales since March this year, beating the £330m target it had set out to achieve by June 2014. | |
In June, it sold its Sarson's and Dufrais vinegars and Haywards pickles for £41m, also to Mizkan. | |
In August, it agreed the sale of its sweet spreads and jellies unit, which included the Robertson's, Hartley's and Sun-Pat brands, to the Hain Celestial Group for £200m. | |
"I'm delighted to have exceeded our disposal target 20 months early while at the same time delivering three successive quarters of sales growth and taking £40m of overhead costs out of the business this year," said Premier Foods chief executive Michael Clarke. | |
Mizkan is a 200-year-old food producer which started in 1804 making sake and now specialises in making rice vinegar. | |
Its chief executive Kazuhide Matazaemon Nakano said: "Branston Sweet Pickle is an iconic brand that has established a market leading position. The Branston brand is also an excellent strategic fit with our global portfolio and adds to our solid foundation for growth in the UK." |