EBT Share Purchase

RNS Number : 6447T

Finsbury Food Group PLC

21 March 2019

 

Date:	21 March 2019
On behalf of:	Finsbury Food Group Plc ('Finsbury', 'the Company' or 'the Group')
For immediate release

Finsbury Food Group Plc

EBT Share Purchase

Finsbury Food Group Plc (AIM: FIF), a leading UK speciality bakery manufacturer of cake, bread and morning goods for both the retail and foodservice channels, has been notified that, on 18 March 2019, the Finsbury Food Group plc Employee Benefit Trust (the "EBT") purchased 700,717 ordinary shares of 1p each in the capital of the Company ("Ordinary Shares") at a price of £0.71213 per Ordinary Share.

The Ordinary Shares, which will be held in the EBT, are intended to be used to satisfy awards made under the Finsbury Food Group Plc Long Term Incentive Plan and to satisfy future annual bonus payments. The EBT is a discretionary trust for the benefit of employees of Finsbury and its subsidiaries, including the Executive Directors of Finsbury.

Following the above purchases, the EBT holds a total of 3,378,459 Ordinary Shares, representing approximately 2.59% of the Company's issued ordinary share capital.  

For further information:

Finsbury Food Group                       John Duffy (Chief Executive) Steve Boyd (Finance Director)	www.finsburyfoods.co.uk	029 20 357 500
Cenkos Securities Max Hartley (Corporate Finance)		0207 397 8900
Alma PR                                          Rebecca Sanders-Hewett Sam Modlin	[e-mail]	020 3405 0205

Notes to editors:

·      Finsbury Food Group Plc (AIM: FIF) is a leading UK manufacturer of cake and bread bakery goods, supplying a broad range of blue chip customers within both the grocery retail and 'out of home eating' foodservice sectors including major multiples and leading foodservice providers.

·      The Company is one of the largest speciality bakery groups in the UK and, with its Overseas division, has sales in the financial year ending 30 June 2018 exceeding £300m.

·      The Company's bakery product range is comprehensive and includes:

o  Large premium and celebration cakes.

o  Small snacking cake formats such as cake slices and bites.

o  Artisan, healthy lifestyle and organic breads through to rolls, muffins (sweet and savoury) and morning pastries, all of which are available both fresh and frozen dependent on customer channel requirements.

·      The Company is one of the largest ambient cake manufacturers in the UK, a market valued at over £950 million (source: IRI, 52 w/e 8^th December 2018). The annual retail bread and morning goods market has a value of £4.4 billion (source: Kantar Worldpanel 52 weeks to 30^th December 2018). The UK foodservice bread and savoury morning goods bakery sector is worth approximately £743 million per annum (source: derived from MCA data for 52 weeks to 30^th September 2018). The UK foodservice cake and sweet morning goods bakery sector is worth approximately £913 million per annum (UK foodservice data derived from MCA data for 52 weeks to 30^th September 2018).

·      The Company comprises a UK Bakery division and an Overseas division:

o  The UK Bakery division has manufacturing sites in Cardiff, East Kilbride, Hamilton, Salisbury, Sheffield, and Manchester.

o  The Overseas division comprises the Company's 50% owned company, Lightbody Stretz Ltd, which supplies and distributes the Group's UK-manufactured products and third party products, primarily to Europe.

·      Since the year end date of 30th June 2018, the Company completed the acquisition of Free From baker Ultrapharm, giving the Group a significant opportunity to access an exciting and high growth marketplace and manufacturing facilities in Pontypool in the UK and in Żywiec, Poland.

 

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