The Greencore Group, the Irish manufacturer of convenience food products for retail in the UK and Ireland, has announced today, Tuesday, July 28, that it will sell off its interests in the molasses trading business.
The group, which was established in 1991 when Irish Sugar was privatised, said that it had arrived at a conditional agreement to sell its molasses interests to United Molasses Marketing, and United Molasses Marketing (Ireland).
The core activities of these businesses, Greencore said in a statement, are the importing and distributing of animal feed across the island of Ireland.
Greencore said that the proceeds will be used to “further strengthen” the group’s balance sheet. The transaction is subject to the approval of relevant anti-trust authorities.
Trading update
In other Greencore-related news, the group has revealed its trading update for the third quarter (Q3) of 2020.
Among the key points of the update is a drop in revenue of 36% in Q3, and down 23% from prior year levels in July to date.
The group saw “encouraging improvement” of demand in food-to-go categories through Q3 and into Q4. The group said it is in a strong position as regards liquidity, to support the business in the near term and to build back as the Covid-19 pandemic eases.