Grampian Country Food Group considers £300m flotation

SCOTLAND - Gampian Country Food Group, Scotland’s biggest private company, is considering a flotation that could value the pork and poultry producer at up to £300m.

Fred Duncan, Grampian’s chairman and biggest shareholder, travelled from Aberdeen to Edinburgh last week to attend a seminar for companies looking to float on the London Stock Exchange. Duncan has set his face against flotation in the past, but his position appears to have changed.

If valued on the same basis as other food companies, Grampian would be worth around £300m. But one City analyst said the company might command a low price ratio because of its exposure to low-cost food markets. If so, the group would be worth little more than £150m.

"They could do what Premier Foods did, which is to float at a bargain price to attract investors in and see some growth," the analyst said.

Despite its recent problems with the banned Sudan-1 additive, shares in Premier have risen by 29% since the company floated in July 2004.

A Grampian spokesman refused to comment on the possibility of a flotation. He said: "If the chairman chooses to go to those seminars then he can."

Grampian, which sells more food in the UK than Northern Foods or Unilever, employs 19,000 people and boasted sales of £1.7bn in the year to March 2004.

Source: The Scotsman