Pie company sale agreed

Shropshire pie-making giant Palethorpes is set to be sold as part of a £160 million deal with a London-based investment company, it was revealed today.

Shropshire pie-making giant Palethorpes is set to be sold as part of a £160 million deal with a London-based investment company, it was revealed today.Northern Foods, owner of the Maer Lane factory in Market Drayton, confirmed an agreement had now been reached to sell the business to Vision Capital.

But jobs at the site look secure after bosses said employees would be transferred. The sale is expected to be completed in January, subject to approval by Northern Foods shareholders.

Northern Foods said the £160 million deal with Vision Capital covered its speciality bread, chilled pastry, cakes and flour milling businesses.

Plans to sell Palethorpes, one of the biggest employers in the town, were announced in May and Northern Foods has been busy marketing the site ever since.

The announcement came as a huge blow to the town. In August, the company also told workers that 200 jobs would go at the factory as part of a cost-cutting drive.

Northern Foods has said that once the sale is complete it will focus on five core areas - pizza, biscuits, ready meals, sandwiches and salads and puddings.

In August the company sold its chilled distribution business, NFT, for gross proceeds of £51.2m.

Northern Foods chief executive Pat O'Driscoll said today: "This disposal, together with the sale of NFT, completes our divestment programme in line with the objectives we set out in our business review on May 31.

"The early conclusion of this process, as a single transaction to Vision Capital, is very positive for our staff and customers. We can now focus all our attention on our core categories to build a competitive and resilient Northern Foods."