Disposal of Fray Bentos to Baxters

DATE
November 2011

TRANSACTION TYPE
Corporate Disposal

VALUE
£ Undisclosed

SECTOR
Food & Beverage

Spayne Lindsay advises Princes Limited (“Princes”) on the sale of Fray Bentos.

Spayne Lindsay is delighted to announce the successful disposal of the Fray Bentos business, brand and certain manufacturing assets (collectively, “Fray Bentos”) to Baxters Food Group (“Baxters”), the Scotland-based manufacturer of ambient premium foods. Fray Bentos is a well-known heritage brand in the UK with an ambient food product portfolio including canned pies, puddings and ready meals. Annual turnover is approximately £30 million. Details of the consideration paid have not been disclosed.

As part of this transaction, Princes has entered into a manufacturing agreement to produce certain products at its Long Sutton canning site in the short term, on behalf of Baxters. Production will be transferred to Baxters’ Fochabers facility in Scotland following this initial agreement. Princes’ intention following this divestiture is to grow the core canning business in East Anglia.

Princes, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corporation, is a leading supplier of food and drink products and brands to customers in the UK and continental Europe. Group turnover for the year to 31st March, 2011 was £1.2 billion. As announced last year, Princes agreed with the Office of Fair Trading (the “OFT”) to divest of Fray Bentos, following the acquisition of Premier Foods’ East Anglian canning operations in July 2011. OFT approval for sale of Fray Bentos was granted on 30th December, 2011.