Irish-Swiss baked foods business Aryzta is using the €400m or so it will get from the near halving of its stake in Dublin-based agri-services business, Origin Enterprises to acquire a 49% stake in French speciality premium food business Picard.

DISCUSSIONS are ongoing between La Senza workers and administrator KPMG over redundancy payment and outstanding monies owed.

THE setback suffered by food giant Aryzta in Britain and Ireland, where food sales fell in the first quarter of its financial year, is hardly a big surprise.

Potato chip maker Kettle Foods was today bought by Lion Capital as part of a move to create the UK’s second-biggest snack business.

A US private equity group tonight said it had bought a majority stake in luxury shoe label Jimmy Choo in a deal valuing the company at £101m (€143.9m).