FDBusiness.com

Baxters Food Group, the Scottish soup and preserves manufacturer, has bought Fray Bentos for an undisclosed sum from Princes Group, which is owned by Mitsubishi Corporation. Princes was ordered by the  UK  Office of Fair Trading to dispose of Fray Bentos, which produces a range of canned pies and puddings as well as corned beef and meatballs, as a condition of its purchase of Premier Foods’ canned grocery operations for £182 million last July.

“Like Baxters, Fray Bentos is a heritage brand and is known the length and breadth of the country holding a special place in the hearts of British consumers both young and old,” says Audrey Baxter, chairman of Baxters Food Group. “We have many exiting ideas to revitalise the brand as we aim to secure a strong foothold in the canned meat market.”

Production from the Fray Bentos site at Long Sutton in East Anglia will be transferred to the Baxters headquarters at Fochabers in Moray, Scotland, over the next twelve months.