Sweeter times for food supplier Uniq

Marks & Spencer food supplier Uniq reported better sandwich sales and reduced losses in desserts yesterday as it gears up for its takeover by food firm Greencore.

Underlying profits rose by 47 per cent to £4.7 million in the half year to 30 June after ‘Food to Go’ sales rose by 9 per cent, offsetting an 8 per cent fall on the desserts side.

Uniq’s 1,900 workforce makes sandwiches from a site in Northampton, salads at Spalding and desserts at Evercreech, Somerset and Minsterley in Shropshire.

It is now 90.2 per cent owned by its pension fund after a deal that saw £436m of liabilities swapped for shares in the firm, which is the last remaining part of Unigate.

The conglomerate once boasted 30,000 staff globally but its dairy business was sold to Dairy Crest while its logistics business Wincanton was demerged.