UK jam maker Duerr’s has signalled its interest in buying Premier Foods plc’s Hartley’s business, which is rumoured to be among the latest of the food giant’s assets up for sale.
Reports this month have claimed that Premier, which sold off units including the Quorn meat-free business last year, is looking to offload its Hartley’s jams and Haywards pickles divisions.
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Mark Duerr, MD of the family-owned firm, confirmed that the company was monitoring the situation and hinted that he saw the potential benefit of acquiring Hartley’s.
“As the biggest independent jam producer in the UK we are investigating opportunities related to the sale of the Hartley’s brand,” Duerr said. “Initially, we can see some synergy however it would be inappropriate to speculate on how this might proceed in the future.”
A spokesperson for Premier declined to comment this afternoon (27 January).
Analysts have insisted the sale of Hartley’s and Haywards would make sense for Premier, which is facing high debts and is looking to strengthen its balance sheet.
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By GlobalDataPremier is also focusing on eight “power brands”, which do not include Hartley’s or Haywards.
“They clearly have too much debt so they need to be making disposals and these are obvious candidates,” Panmure Gordon analyst Graham Jones said earlier this month.
