Princes Double Size of Continental European Revenues
The food and drink group confirmed it has now completed a transaction with its long-term Italian tomato supply partner, AR Industrie Alimentari SpA (ARIA), to create a new company in Italy that has acquired ARIA’s 120,000 sq metre processing factory in Foggia.
4 May 2012 --- Liverpool headquartered Princes plans to double the size of its continental European revenues to over €500 million in the next 5 years after concluding its biggest acquisition in the EU.
The food and drink group confirmed it has now completed a transaction with its long-term Italian tomato supply partner, AR Industrie Alimentari SpA (ARIA), to create a new company in Italy that has acquired ARIA’s 120,000 sq metre processing factory in Foggia. The new company, Princes Industrie Alimentari SrL (PIA), is majority (51%) owned by Princes.
PIA’s Foggia factory is one of the most modern and efficient ambient tomato processing facilities in Europe. The business is expected to generate annual sales of more than €200 million, will employ up to 1,200 people at its seasonal peak and process in the region of 400,000 tonnes of fresh tomatoes annually.
It will continue to support local agricultural producers in Italy and develop the many opportunities that PIA represents to them and Princes as a group. Importantly, the new tomato processing facility will ensure security of supply to customers of what is a staple product and favourite within the grocery, food manufacture and foodservice markets.
Ken Critchley, Princes Managing Director, said: “This transaction is a key development for our group and represents a significant step forward in our strategy for continued growth. It gives us a platform for further expansion into continental Europe and access to wider international markets and customers. PIA strengthens the relationships we have with our supply base and achieves one of the Group’s core objectives of greater vertical integration.”
The Princes Group now employs over 6,000 people, operates 14 major food and drink production sites and is on target to achieve annual sales in excess of £2 billion.
