Premier Foods lifted by Christmas recovery

Premier Foods today said healthy Christmas sales had helped to compensate for lower demand created by the unusually mild autumn in the UK.

The maker of Sarson’s Vinegar and Birds Custard expected like-for-like sales to rise by 2% last year – or 1% after adjusting for the impact of the fire at its Bury St Edmunds plant which disrupted production of Branston Pickle in 2004.