FOOD and drink group Princes is to be acquired by an Italian giant in a deal worth £700m, it has been confirmed.

Mitsubishi Corporation, which has owned the Liverpool-headquartered group since 1989, is to sell it to Newlat Food S.p.A.

Princes was founded in Liverpool in 1880 as Simpson & Roberts and its licenced and owned brands include Branston, Batchelors, Flora, Olivio, Crisp 'n' Dry and Jucee.

Princes Group's chief executive Simon Harrison, said: "This is an exciting prospect for Princes, and we are delighted that Newlat share our confidence in the group's strategic growth plans, brand strategy, operational excellence and culture.

"The intended sale is an ongoing process and further information will be shared in due course."

The deal comes after City A.M. reported in January that Princes had cut over 150 jobs while slipping to a loss of more than £50m despite its revenue rising by £300m.

The company reduced its headcount from 6,475 to 6,309 in the 12 months to 31 March 2023. The redundancies were made after Princes also cut over 300 jobs in its prior financial year.

Princes went from making a pre-tax profit of £28.9m to a loss of £50.6m over the same period while its revenue increased from £1.4bn to £1.7bn during the year.

As well as its Liverpool head office, Princes has sites across Europe, managed from The Netherlands.

There are also dedicated sales and marketing offices in Poland, tuna processing facilities in Mauritius, tomato processing in Italy and edible oils production in Poland.

When the deal completes, Newlat Food S.p.A and its group will become 'New Princes Group'. Princes Limited will retain its identity and operate as a UK-based subsidiary of the group.

The new group will have a global operating network of 31 factories and a portfolio across 10 distinct categories.

(c) 2024 City A.M., source Newspaper