British foods group rejects takeover bids

British convenience foods group Uniq today said it had rejected two potential takeover bids.

The company confirmed reports that it had received unconnected approaches from two unidentified parties about potential offers for the group.

However, Uniq said it believed both the proposals undervalued its business and prospects.

“Accordingly, the proposals have been rejected,” the group said in a statement.

Uniq has eight sites in the UK and is the largest supplier of sandwiches to Marks & Spencer and has a range of contracts with Asda.

In September, it reported £20m (€28.8m) of business wins and said a new management team had given its UK business more focus, but that total sales were still down 3% in the five months to the end of August.

Uniq will announce results for the half-year to September 30 on November 8, but said conditions in its UK and Northern Europe markets remained challenging.