Bakkavör

Bakkavör Group plc
Company type
Subsidiary
IndustryFood manufacturing
Founded1986; 40 years ago (1986)
FoundersÁgúst Guðmundsson
Lýður Guðmundsson
DefunctJanuary 16, 2026; 4 months ago (2026-01-16)
Headquarters
London
,
England, UK
Number of locations
43
Area served
  • United Kingdom
  • Spain
  • France
  • United States
  • China (including Hong Kong)
Key people
Products
RevenueIncrease£2,292.7 million (2024)[2]
Increase£113.6 million (2024)[2]
Increase£55.7 million (2024)[2]
OwnerGreencore
Number of employees
c. 17,450 (2025)[3]
DivisionsMeals
Desserts
Pizza & Bread
Salads
Websitewww.bakkavor.com

Bakkavör Group plc (originally Bakkavör) was an international food manufacturing company specialising in fresh prepared foods. With its headquarters in London, England, it operated 43 manufacturing sites in the UK, US, and previously China.[2]

Previously listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE),[4] it was acquired by Greencore in January 2026.[5]

History

Bakkavör was founded in 1986 by brothers Ágúst and Lýður Guðmundsson to manufacture and export cod roe to Scandinavia.[6] In 1993, it became the first production company in Iceland to obtain a ISO:9002 certification for quality assurance.[7]

In 1997, three years before it was revealed to have an annual turnover of over 4.5 billion ISK,[8] the firm expanded into Scandinavian and European markets selling cod and lumpfish roe. In addition, it started selling convenience foods, acquiring Katsouris Fresh Foods, Wine & Dine, and Geest.[6]

In early 2003, the company sold its Icelandic components to Fram Foods ehf. and began focusing on the UK market.[9] Having employed over 13,000 people in 2005,[10] Bakkavör was heavily indebted following the 2008 financial crisis,[11] forcing its founders into emergency talks with its bondholders.[11]

After the Guðmundsson brothers reacquired a major stake in Bakkavör from their investment firm Exista in 2009,[12] it was delisted from NASDAQ OMX in Iceland the following year and became a private limited company.[13] Lýður and Ágúst faced fraud charges in Iceland in 2012 relating to their ownership of Exista.[14]

Between 2013 and 2015, it simplified its structure, selling its South African operation and a 40% stake in its Italian business later in the year, along with other operations in Continental Europe.[15] The firm acquired US prepared foods manufacturer B. Robert's Foods in January 2015.[16]

In January 2016, Bakkavör was acquired by a company controlled by its founders and by funds managed by The Baupost Group, called Bakk AL Holdings Limited, which took possession of approximately 89% of its outstanding shares.[17]

In April 2017, seven months before its IPO on the LSE,[18] it was reported that some supermarkets had to recall the company's hummus due to poor quality control.[19] In 2022, three years after Bakkavör acquired the Leicester-based dessert manufacturer Blueberry Foods,[20] Mike Edwards was appointed to succeed Ágúst Guðmundsson as CEO following his departure.[21]

In April 2025, Greencore announced it would acquire Bakkavör for £1.2 billion, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval.[22] The China business was sold in July 2025 to streamline operations and prepare the business for the Greencore acquisition.[23] As Greencore agreed to divest its sauces and soups site to address competition concerns, it was announced in December 2025 that it had received approval from the UK Competition and Markets Authority to finalize the transaction.[24] The Greencore acquisition of Bakkavör was completed on 16 January 2026, with all sites being rebranded to the Greencore branding.[25]

Strike in Spalding, Lincolnshire

On 27 September 2024, more than 400 staff at the Bakkavör factory in Spalding, Lincolnshire, went on a strike in a dispute over pay; Bakkavör said it had offered 7.8% pay rises to its lowest-paid workers and 6.4% to other staff. It said about 35% of the workforce was on strike, with the remaining 800 continuing to work at the site as normal.[26]

In November, the Financial Times reported that the strike action was causing shortages of taramasalata in UK supermarkets,[27] and The Grocer reported that some chilled soups were out of stock.[28]

Operations

The company produced a range of meals, salads, desserts, dips, sauces, sandwiches and pizza and bread products.[29] Bakkavör produced over 3,500 product categories to suppliers in the UK, United States and China.[2]

References

  1. ^ "Board of Directors". Bakkavör. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Annual Results 2024" (PDF). Bakkavör. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  3. ^ "About us". Bakkavör. Retrieved 9 February 2025.
  4. ^ "Bakkavör: our story". London Stock Exchange. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  5. ^ "Greencore completes £1.2BN Bakkavör acquisition". Food Manufacture. Retrieved 17 January 2026.
  6. ^ a b Jónsson, Ásgeir; Sigurgeirsson, Hersir (2016). The Icelandic Financial Crisis: A Study into the World's Smallest Currency Area and its Recovery from Total Banking Collapse. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 71. ISBN 978-1137394545.
  7. ^ "Gæðamál Bakkavör hlýtur viðurkenningu". www.mbl.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  8. ^ "Morgunblaðið - Morgunblaðið C - Viðskiptablað Morgunblaðsins (12.10.2000) - Tímarit.is". timarit.is. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  9. ^ "Morgunblaðið - 292. tölublað (28.10.2003) - Tímarit.is". timarit.is. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  10. ^ "Frjáls verslun - 5. tölublað (01.05.2005) - Tímarit.is". timarit.is. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  11. ^ a b Bowers, Simon (8 March 2010). "Icelandic tycoons could regain control of empire built on debt". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  12. ^ Mason, Rowena (11 October 2009). "Deloitte under scrutiny over sale of Bakkavör stake". Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  13. ^ "Shareholders' meeting of Bakkavör Group hf on 26 March 2010" (Press release). Global Newswire. 22 March 2010. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  14. ^ Bowers, Simon (25 September 2012). "Icelandic sandwich tycoon Lydur Gudmundsson faces fraud charges". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  15. ^ "UK: Bakkavör sells stake in Italian asset". Just Food. 8 May 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  16. ^ "Bakkavör Group buys B. Robert's Foods of Charlotte". Biz Journals. 12 January 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  17. ^ Hipwell, Deirdre. "Fresh owners for Bakkavör". The Times.
  18. ^ "Bakkavör revives IPO one week after shelving it due to 'market volatility". The Telegraph. 10 November 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  19. ^ "Chickpeas suspected source of hummus taste issues". Food Quality. 27 April 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  20. ^ "Bakkavör agrees to acquire Blueberry Foods in UK". www.foodprocessing-technology.com. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  21. ^ "Bakkavör Group CEO and co-founder to retire". Food Management Today. 3 October 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  22. ^ Kelly, Maxine (2 April 2025). "Greencore agrees £1.2bn deal for UK ready meal rival Bakkavör". Financial Times. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
  23. ^ "Waitrose supplier Bakkavör sells China operations in $67 million deal". Reuters. 29 April 2025. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  24. ^ "Greencore clears final CMA hurdle to seal £1.2bn Bakkavör acquisition". New Food Magazine. Retrieved 17 December 2025.
  25. ^ Riley, Dan. "Greencore completes Bakkavör takeover to form £4bn convenience food behemoth". British Baker. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  26. ^ "Unite leader Sharon Graham meets striking Bakkavör food factory workers". BBC News. 16 October 2024. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  27. ^ Speed, Madeleine; Onita, Laura (11 November 2024). "UK shoppers hit by taramasalata shortage after strike". Financial Times. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  28. ^ Leonard-Bedwell, Niamh; Devlin, Ed (6 November 2024). "Soup disappearing from supermarket shelves amid Bakkavör strike". The Grocer. Retrieved 13 June 2025.
  29. ^ "London Stock Exchange welcomes Bakkavör Group plc to the main market". London Stock Exchange. Retrieved 2 March 2018.

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