One of our best industries is under pressure

THE sell recommendation put on Greencore’s shares by British broker Goldman Sachs was a jolt to the group.

Just a week earlier, the food-to-property group revised its earnings forecast up 5% for the year, following good first-half results that got a shot in the arm from malting barley prices.

Ironically, the brokers said rising food prices, as well as the group’s exposure to property in Ireland, would hurt earnings.