Food-to-go group Greencore agrees £1.2bn takeover of rival Bakkavor

Supermarket sandwich maker Greencore has agreed a £1.2 billion takeover deal for rival Bakkavor in a move that will create a food-to-go giant with around 30,500 staff.

Under the cash-and-shares deal, Greencore will pay £2 a share for Bakkavor, which it said is a 33% premium on Bakkavor’s closing share price on March 13.

The tie-up will form a combined food group with annual sales of about £4 billion which supplies many of the UK’s biggest supermarkets and retailers.

But the groups warned over job cuts and factory closures as part of aims to save at least £80 million in costs a year after the deal.

They plan to strip out duplicate headquarters and back office operations, such as administration and support, while they said around 5% of the cost savings would come from reducing combined manufacturing sites, impacting some factory workers.

Greencore shareholders will own around 56% of the combined group and Bakkavor the remaining 44% stake following the takeover, which is expected to complete in early 2026 if approved by regulators and shareholders.

“The boards of Greencore and Bakkavor believe that a combination will drive significant benefits for customers and colleagues of both companies and will make a significant continuing contribution to the UK economy,” according to the firms.

Greencore is a prepared food specialist, which supplies all major UK supermarkets, as well as the likes of Marks & Spencer.

It has its headquarters in Dublin, with a UK head office in Worksop and 14 factories across the UK.

The group supplies nearly 750 million food-to-go items each year and employs about 13,300 staff.

London-headquartered Bakkavor employs around 17,200 staff across 41 sites in the UK, US and China.

It makes around 3,500 different freshly prepared food products, including meals, salads, desserts, dips, sauces, sandwiches, and pizza and bread products.

Leslie Van de Walle, chair of Greencore, said: “We have long admired Bakkavor and we are pleased to announce a transaction that will create a true UK leader in convenience food.

“We intend to bring together our strong and complementary companies to deliver high-quality, innovative food to UK customers and consumers.”

Dalton Philips, chief executive of Greencore, added: “The combined group will be able to invest more in innovation and product development ensuring we can provide the consumer with greater food choices at more points in the day, bringing together Greencore’s ‘food for now’ expertise with Bakkavor’s ‘food for later’ portfolio.”