Full coverage: Food

After hosting a discussion with Glanbia, Bord Bia and UCD, ifac Accountant’s Lorcan Bannon shows where opportunities lie for Irish food businesses in China – and how to seize them.

An EGM requested in May by disgruntled shareholders of the global bakery manufacturer will not take place until mid-September. If Aryzta can be sold, its chairman Gary McGann, an experienced boardroom veteran, has given himself as much time as he could to make the deal and exit with his head high – if not, he has promised to bow out.

Activist shareholders intent on taking over the Swiss-Irish food company’s board have strong candidates and a pessimistic reading of its accounts. Can they bring other investors along?

A High Court judge has approved a plan combining creditor haircuts and investment by Thurles Wholesale Cash and Carry, the company owned by the Kildare-based Cox family of grocery wholesalers.

Gregor Greber, co-founder of Swiss investment firm Veraison, speaks exclusively to The Currency as he joins forces with disgruntled shareholders to remove all Irish directors from Aryzta’s board.

The bakery chain is exiting Ireland amid international turbulence in its Belgian-owned parent group, but its failure is also a sign of difficulties mounting in Ireland's wider restaurant industry.

Butter prices are down, farmers are getting less for their milk and cheese stocks are going into cold stores. But unlike other sectors, Ireland’s dairy industry is working as one and its businesses entered the crisis with strong balance sheets.

The “Spanish Warren Buffett” sparred with Aryzta Chairman Gary McGann at the Irish-Swiss food giant’s 2018 AGM and narrowly lost an €800 million shareholder vote. Francisco Paramés is on the attack again with a new ally – and little left to lose on his Aryzta investment.

As a food and drinks business specialist with ifac and a council member of the Ireland China Business Association, Lorcan Bannon has spent some time speaking with industry experts in China to get a perspective on what Irish food and drinks businesses can expect post the initial surge of Covid-19.

Maurice Mathews, a Ballymun based vegetable and fruit wholesaler, is feeling the strain the coronavirus crisis is putting on Ireland's food industry. But he has working on innovative ways to continue to keep his business going and his staff in a job.