The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has accepted, in principle, a proposed remedy to competition concerns for Greencore’s acquisition of Bakkavor, which aims to create a leading convenience food business.
Though Greencore stressed that 99% of the revenues of the combined business were not an issue for the CMA, concerns had been raised over the deal reducing market competition for own-label chilled sauces supplied to UK supermarkets.
To address this, Greencore plans to dispose of a site in Bristol where it manufactures chilled soups and sauces, where it is currently engaged with prospective purchasers. The Bristol site and its related business generated revenues of approximately £47m in the year ended 26 September 2025, 1% of the revenues of the combined group.
Greencore and Bakkavor are now targeting to complete the acquisition in early 2026.
Dalton Philips, CEO of Greencore, said: “The CMA’s acceptance in principle of the remedy is really good news and means we can now look to complete the Bakkavor deal in early 2026.
“In parallel, our focus is on finding the right new owner for our Bristol business. It’s been great to see such strong interest shown in what is a fantastic chilled soups and sauces operation, and I’m highly confident we’ll get a good outcome here.
“Looking further ahead, I’m extremely excited about what’s to come. Working with brilliant colleagues across Greencore and Bakkavor, we’ve got a huge opportunity to create real value – for our customers and consumers, our colleagues and our shareholders. Both teams are already collaborating really well on integration plans, and we’ll be ready to hit the ground running once the deal completes in early 2026.”
Mike Edwards, CEO of Bakkavor, added: “Today’s clearance from the CMA is fantastic news and gives us even greater certainty that we will bring these two brilliant businesses together.
“We are now targeting to complete the deal by early 2026. Our integration plans are well progressed, and we will continue to work collaboratively with Greencore to ensure a quick and smooth transition following completion.
“With everything starting to feel very real, we are even more excited about bringing together our two complementary businesses and the best people in the industry. Together, the combined group’s scale will enable us to create even more opportunities for colleagues, deliver even better quality, service and innovation for our customers, and generate value for our shareholders.”
Joel Bamford, executive director of mergers at the CMA, said: “The cost of our weekly shop matters to us all, so we must take decisions that ensure there is effective competition helping to keep product prices as low as possible on supermarket shelves. Our assessment found Greencore’s deal to buy Bakkavor could raise prices at the till.
“Following close engagement with Greencore and Bakkavor we’ve secured remedies which we believe have the potential to address our competition concerns – so we have accepted the remedies in principle today and will now work to towards a final resolution.”