2004 press releases

Northern’s subsidiary Convenience Foods Limited has agreed to sell its Minsterley fresh chilled dairy products business to Uniq Prepared Foods Limited, a subsidiary of Uniq plc (‘Uniq’), for a cash consideration of £16.5 million, which will be used to reduce Group debt. The net assets to be disposed of are £19.8 million plus £24.0 million of goodwill previously written off to reserves. During the financial year ended 31 March 2004 Minsterley made an operating loss of £3.8 million on sales of £58.6 million.

Minsterley is a manufacturer of dairy desserts, fromage frais and cottage cheese, which are sold principally under the Marks & Spencer and Asda retailer brands. It also manufactures a range of branded dairy desserts under licence.

The large, modern Minsterley factory in Shropshire employs some 520 people who will transfer to Uniq under TUPE*. It is expected that the sale will be completed later this month.

Northern Finance Director Sean Christie commented: ‘Minsterley has an excellent facility, great products and customers, and a first class team of people. Its losses arise from the reduction in turnover that followed our sale of the Ski and Munch Bunch brands to Nestlé UK in 2002. Although we have been successfully rebuilding sales in new areas, it would clearly be a long haul under our ownership to return the business to satisfactory levels of profitability. It makes sense for us to sell to a company that is focused on these areas and can realise synergies with its other operations.

This is consistent with our well-established strategy of increasing the focus of the Group, and taking firm action on underperforming assets. The sale follows the disposals of Fox’s Confectionery in 2003, of the Batchelors and Beck Smith grocery operations and the Emile Tissot frozen ready meals business earlier this year.’

^{*Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981}