Moves in UK confectionery ingredients
foothold at the higher end of the confectionery market after food
ingredients business Kiril Mischeff sold its House of York toffee
brand to the Blackburn-based firm.
In a £120,000 (€181,000) deal announced this week, Kiril Mischeff will sell manufacturing equipment, product recipes, its order book and the confectionery brand to the maker of SunMaid chocolate raisins.
Glisten said all assets would be transferred to its sites at Skegness and Blackburn and "are expected to deliver additional sales of £500,000 per annum and deliver new capabilities," including the ability to produce 'swirl' toffees and 'bonfire' treacle-based toffees for the UK retailers as well as the international stage.
"The House of York asset purchase adds to our capabilities in terms of toffee manufacture and gives us access to some interesting retail and export customers," said Jeremy Hamer, chairman of Glisten.
The announcement came as the group said results for the year to 30 June were in line with expectations, with sales for the start of the current year "significantly ahead". Earlier this year, Glisten bought family-run jelly bean and wine gum manufacturer Fravigar from Kiril Mischeff for £6.5 million and last year bought Sunya, a division of Leeds-based baking-to-spreads business Renshaw Scott.
Fravigar manufactures a wide range of confectionery products including wine gums, fruit pastilles and jelly beans, as well as traditional boiled sweets, toffees and fudge for the major multiples and specialist retailers, and it was these supply contracts with the leading supermarket groups which were particularly of interest to Glisten.
The company said at the time of the Fravigar purchase that by becoming a 'one-stop-shop' for its retail clients, it would be able to further strengthen its ties with the leading grocery chains, an increasingly important outlet for confectionery product sales.
According to the UK Biscuit, Cake, Chocolate and Confectionery Association (BCCCA) the value of chocolate confectionery in the UK rose by 5.3 per cent in 2003 to £2.52 billion, up from £2.4 billion from the year before. Sugar confectionery has not witnessed such strong growth, rising by 2.6 per cent from £935 million in 2002 to £959 million last year.
