Espersen, a prominent player in the food manufacturing industry, has recently finalized its acquisition of Iceland Seafood UK (IS UK). With the transaction set to be completed this month, Espersen will soon become the sole owner of IS UK, acquiring 100% of its share capital.
The decision to exit the UK market was announced by ISI in late 2022, as the company faced various challenges in the region that had significantly impacted its financial performance. While plans to sell the business were abandoned in February of this year following failed attempts, ISI remained open to further consolidation opportunities within the industry.
As part of the acquisition agreement, property, equipment, and machinery belonging to IS UK will be sold to Iceland Seafood Barraclough, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ISI. However, these assets will be leased back to IS UK upon completion of the sale. Moreover, Espersen will have the option to purchase these assets at the conclusion of the leasing agreement.
Bjarni Ármannsson, CEO of ISI, reflected on the sale, acknowledging the challenging period the company had faced in the UK over the past four years. He expressed confidence in the decision to divest the IS UK business, albeit at a significant loss. Ármannsson praised Espersen’s strong position in the UK value-added seafood market and conveyed his belief that they would be able to utilize the assets more effectively than ISI had been able to.
It is estimated that the sale of IS UK will result in an impairment of fixed assets amounting to €8.3m, which will be reflected in ISI’s first-half group results. The discontinuation of operations in the period had a total impact of €13.9m, contributing to a net loss of €15.3m for the Group in the first half of 2023, down by €12.4m from the same period in the previous year.
