Greencore to delist from ISEQ

GREENCORE is to delist from the ISEQ next month, paving the way for a switch of its share listing from Dublin to London.

Though well flagged by the company, the Dublin-headquartered convenience food group’s shares will cease trading on Dublin’s ISEQ index on January 20, with management expecting the company’s shares to begin trading on London’s FTSE All-Share and FTSE Small Cap indices on March 19.

The FTSE committees, which consider share qualification, are due to meet in February and early March.

Between January 20 and March 19, the company’s ordinary shares listed on the London Stock Exchange will trade in sterling.

Greencore has changed its reporting currency from euro to sterling.

Likewise, shareholder dividends will, from now on, be declared in sterling.

Greencore has not ruled out taking a secondary listing in Dublin in the future, but sees the need for London to be its main share hub due to the changing nature of its business.

The British convenience food market accounts for roughly 90% of total revenues.

In addition, most of the company’s shares are now held by overseas investors.

In a statement yesterday, management noted how in recent years the profile of the company’s operations have changed from their Irish beginnings to a more British focus, in terms of operating profit, revenue and producing assets.

“Greencore’s board believes that FTSE UK index inclusion would result in a further increase in UK and international investor awareness,” the company added.

The extent of Greencore’s reliance on the British market was accentuated earlier this year with its acquisition of rival food group, Uniq.