Princes Group CEO Simon Harrison is to step down from the helm of the UK-listed food-and-drink business.
In a regulatory filing today (19 May), the company said Harrison was leaving his position as chief executive and board director from 30 June “to pursue a new opportunity”.
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Harrison has worked at Princes for five years and was appointed CEO of the company in April 2024.
The Branston brand owner has started its search for a new CEO and has named chief commercial officer and executive board director Giuseppe Mastrolia its interim leader, effective from July.
Mastrolia joined Princes in July 2024 as a board director after the then Newlat acquired the UK group. He has been chief commercial officer at Princes since the latter half of last year and has also been CEO of NewPrinces for the past nine years, the filing said.
NewPrinces listed Princes on the London Stock Exchange at the end of October.
Angelo Mastrolia, chairman of both NewPrinces and Princes said: “I would like to thank Simon for his contribution and leadership of the company through the integration of Princes and especially during the transition to a publicly listed company on the London Stock Exchange. We wish him well for the future.”
Harrison added: “Princes is well positioned for the future and I look forward to seeing its continued success. It has been a privilege to lead a great British business during a period of exciting change and I would like to thank the chairman, the board and all of the Princes employees for their support.”
Last week, after publishing a trading update on its fourth quarter results, Princes said that it expects to close “at least one acquisition in the next couple of months”.
The Jucee squash maker said its “M&A pipeline remains active”, with the number of options it is assessing increasing.
The group did not share full quarterly accounts but said revenue grew 5.9% year-on-year to £506.6m ($684.5m).
New businesses added to the group from parent NewPrinces, such as Italian baby-food business Plasmon, boosted the UK-listed firm’s top line.
Princes said its “adjusted EBITDA” was up 17% to £38.2m.
The company reports revenue from five business units. Its Foods unit, which is its largest saw revenue dip 0.1% to £159.7m.
Revenue from its Fish unit dropped 0.7% to £89.3m while Oils revenue rose 5.2% to £78.6m.
Princes’ Italian Products leg saw revenue rise nearly 44% to £115m, helped by the recent integration of businesses like Plasmon. New Princes acquired the brand last year from Kraft Heinz and, from the start of this year, Princes has been managing Plasmon under an operating lease.
Revenue from Princes’ Drinks unit dropped 13.4% to £64m as it was affected by what the business said was an “unwinding of the exceptional orange juice commodity price cycle” seen during 2024 and the first quarter of last year.
