Greencore writes off pizza business

GREENCORE will take a €40 million hit after the food group cut its losses with its struggling pizza business yesterday by giving it away to management for free.

The company said it had decided to quit the market for chilled pizza in Britain, where it held the number two position with a 22% share, because the operation had "consistently failed to deliver the performance or returns that the group demands."

Chief financial officer Patrick Coveney, who took up his position a month ago after Patrick Kennedy defected to become chief executive of bookmaker Paddy Power, said the company had been flagging difficulties with its pizza operations for two years.