30 October 2012 – disposal
The group has announced yet another disposal with the conditional sale of its sweet pickles and table sauces business to the Mizkan group for £92.5m. The business sold includes the iconic Branston brand as well as a significant private label business. The sale will mean that the company has raised £370m in disposal proceeds since March 2012, significantly ahead of the target of £330m which was due to be rasied by June 2014. Although the shares have moved up strongly since last week’s recommendation at 83.75p they remain a SPECULATIVE BUY.