Greencore, the UK’s largest maker of sandwiches, has agreed a deal to acquire its industry rival Uniq in a deal worth £113 million.
Greencore said that Uniq represents an excellent fit to its UK strategy, which will help the combined group achieve greater scale in the food-to-go and chilled desserts markets, as well as adding add new and complementary customer relationships, in particular with the food retailer Marks & Spencer.
Uniq was put up for sale by its pension fund earlier this year after struggling to manage its pension deficit.
Dublin, Ireland-based Greencore produces around 200 million sandwiches a year, supplying supermarkets such as Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Marks & Spencer. Acquiring Buckinghamshire-based Uniq is likely to increase Greencore’s sandwich volumes by around 50 per cent.
Currently, approximately half of Uniq’s revenue is generated from sales of food-to-go products to Marks & Spencer.
Commenting on the deal, Patrick Coveney, chief executive officer of Greencore, said: “The proposed acquisition of Uniq delivers demonstrable further scale in two key categories—food-to-go and chilled desserts, and is underpinned by substantial synergies. Furthermore, it broadens Greencore’s commercial footprint and it is perfectly aligned to our strategy.
“It represents an important milestone as we extend the scale and leadership positions of our Group in the UK convenience market. I am very excited about bringing together the Greencore and Uniq teams to deliver on this opportunity.”
Geoff Eaton, chief executive officer of Uniq, added: “Today’s announcement is the best possible result for all concerned. It is a good offer from a strong business that provides an excellent strategic fit and, as such, represents the best outcome for employees, pension members and shareholders, as well as an exciting opportunity for Greencore.
“The Uniq team has done an exceptional job over the past two years to find a solution to Uniq’s pension scheme issues, whilst continuing to deliver a high quality service to our customers. As a result, the building blocks are in place for the Uniq businesses to realise their full potential with a committed, long-term owner, such as Greencore.”
The deal is expected to complete by September.
