Premier Foods considering Quorn sale

Premier Foods is hoping to carve a chunk out of its debt mountain by selling off its successful meat-free brand, Quorn.

The company - which also owns Bisto Gravy and Branston Pickle - has confirmed it is considering takeover approaches for the brand worth up to £250 million. Premier is currently holding a debt mountain of £1.4 billion. It has previously stated that it aims to reduce that by £500 million, and a sale of Quorn could well see it half way to achieving that.

While confirming the approaches, a spokesman for the company did not reveal details on how many there had been, or by whom, and warned against getting ahead of themselves. He said, "There can be no guarantee that such a transaction will take place," and that they would make further announcements when "appropriate".

Premier Foods is the country's largest food producer, and is also behind such famous brands as Hovis bread, Mr Kipling cakes and Sharwood's curries. They bought Quorn in 2005 from Bird's for £172 million.

The company recorded a pre-tax loss of £54 million in the first half of this year, attributing it to "tough" trading conditions. It is known that the company made considerable losses recently on swap contracts. Last year Premier Foods received an approach for its Mr Kipling cakes brand and rumours have abounded that the Hovis brand is also up for sale.

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