2 Sisters Food Group is reportedly eyeing yet another business disposal in the form of Christmas pudding maker Matthew Walker.
Sky News reports UK-based 2 Sisters, which is primarily engaged in chicken processing, has hired Stamford Partners as an adviser to seek out a potential sale target. Quoting unnamed sources, the news service said a deal could fetch in the region of GBP80m (US$104.3m).
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A spokesperson a 2 Sisters declined to comment on the speculation when contacted by just-food today (7 May).
Matthew Walker is based in the East Midlands county of Derbyshire and manufactures both own-label and branded Christmas puddings. 2 Sisters, which is owned by multi-millionaire businessman Ranjit Singh Boparan, bought the company in 2011 as part of its acquisition of Leeds-based Northern Foods, and in so doing expanded its empire into biscuits, pies, puddings, seafood, and frozen pizzas.
However, 2 Sisters has been offloading a number of operations of late to cut its debt pile and improve its financial performance having posted losses in the wake of a food hygiene scandal at a poultry processing plant in the West Midlands in 2017, the repercussions of which spilled over into the following year. In 2018, the company hired ex-Müller executive Ronald Kers as chief executive as Boparan stepped down to take up the position of president of the parent group, Boparan Holdings.
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In the first quarter of this year, 2 Sisters completed the sale of its Irish seafood business Donegal Catch, including the frozen food brand Green Isle Brands, to a consortium of investors headed by ex-Largo Foods chief Maurice Hickey. And it also disposed of its Nottingham-based sandwich business to Samworth Brothers.
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By GlobalDataAnd last year, Boparan Holdings got rid of the Goodfella’s and San Marco pizza brands to UK-based Nomad Foods, and sold its red-meat assets to Ireland-based meat company Kepak Group. Holland’s Pies has also been touted as another possible candidate for disposal.
just-food analysis: What are the options for incoming 2 Sisters CEO Ronald Kers?
