Hilton Food Group’s share price jumps after a joint venture is formed with Portugal’s leading food retailer
Hilton Food Group's share price increased more than five per cent to an all-time high of 695p in morning trading after it announced a 50/50 joint venture agreement with Portugal's leading food retailer.
This extends the UK-based retail meat packing company's presence to a total of 15 countries.
The meaty deal with Sonae Modelo Continente will allow Hilton to supply a range of packaged beef, lamb, veal and pork products to Sonae stores.
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Hilton will work to redevelop the production facilities of Sonae's subsidiary Sonae Centro Processamento Carnes, which currently sources more than 1,000 tonnes of packaged meat to Portugal's Sonae stores every week.
The joint venture, which will be called SOHI Meat Solutions, will be completed by the end of the second quarter of 2017.
The company's partners think SOHI Meat Solutions will be in a position to increase the overall volumes supplied to the Portuguese market.
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The facility will require an initial investment of €22m (£18.7m), financed principally by the joint venture partners. Hilton’s share of the investment will be financed primarily by debt.
The new facility is expected to enhance Hilton's earnings in 2017. Over the past 12 months, Hilton's share price has increased by 34.2 per cent.
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Robert Watson, chief executive of the international meat packaging business said it looks forward to more geographic expansion.
He said:
Our progress in Portugal demonstrates further the strength of Hilton’s flexible and versatile business model, enabling us to meet the local requirements of our customers in their territories.