Kipling cake baker makes exceedingly good deal

The maker of Mr Kipling Cakes is selling some of its well known food brands to a US manufacturing group in a £200m deal.

Premier Foods is selling its range of sweet spreads and jellies to Hain Celestial, the maker of natural and organic products including the Linda McCartney meat free range.

Under the deal Hain will get well known brands including Robertson's marmalade, Hartley's jam and Gales honey.

Other brands in the sale include Sun-Pat peanut butter and marmalades Frank Cooper and Keiller, while Premier will also transfer its Histon factory near Cambridge, where most of the products are made.

Hain owns the Linda McCartney frozen food factory in Fakenham and has its head office in Luton where it produces 30 million sandwiches per year for a leading UK retailer.