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23 August 2012 11:26
Premier Foods has announced plans to sell its well-known breakfast table brands including Robertson's marmalade, Hartley's jam and Gale's honey to a US group as part of a £200 million takeover deal.
Premier Foods, which makes Hovis bread and Mr Kipling cakes, is selling its range of sweet spreads and jellies to Hain Celestial, the maker of natural and organic products including the Linda McCartney meat-free range. Other brands in the sale include Sun-Pat peanut butter and marmalades Frank Cooper and Keiller, while Premier will also transfer its Histon factory near Cambridge, where most of the products are made.
The sale is part of a scheme to reduce Premier's £1.3 billion debt pile which also includes the recent sale of vinegar brand Sarson's and pickles business Haywards. Premier has now achieved £275 million of the £330 million disposal proceeds it has targeted by June 2014.
