Cerealto Siro: sells El Espinar plant to PastisArt

Madrid / ES. (csf) Cerealto Siro Foods has closed an agreement for the sale of its Pastry business and, specifically, of the factory located in El Espinar to PastisArt, a Spanish company based in Terrassa (Barcelona), specialised in in-store bakery and frozen products.

Simultaneously, it has announced the sale of its Baby Food business and, therefore, of the Benavente factory located in Portugal, to Belourthe, the Belgian leader in this segment.

In both cases, the Company has ensured the maintenance of employment and working conditions of the workforce in both work centres, which in the case of El Espinar amounts to around 148 people.

According to Nuria Betriu, Managing Director of PastisArt, «the acquisition of the plant in El Espinar fits PastisArt’s strategic plan to consolidate itself as the leader in high quality bakery in Spain, with high international penetration. The purchase of the work centre means increasing the production capacity of the company, expanding the product portfolio for all national and international customers and continue betting for quality, innovation and customer orientation».

In the words of Luis Ángel López, CEO of Cerealto Siro Foods «we are very satisfied with the way in which negotiations are evolving and with the interest shown by the market and the investors community in acquiring leading businesses. We continue advancing according to our plan and we expect to close the whole bread and bakery operation by December 2019, as we had estimated».

The operation is carried out fulfilling the Group’s commitment to finding specialised buyers with these categories at the core of their strategy, which can make these businesses grow further.

Likewise, the Company has announced immediate investments in its plant located in Aguilar de Campoo to turn it into a leading manufacturer of breakfast cereals and cereal bars, by introducing a new line for cereal bars and expanding current breakfast cereals lines capacity.

«This operation will help us to continue focusing on our strategic commitment to the global categories of Biscuits, Cereals and Pasta, where we will allocate part of the operational and financial resources resulting from this operation», added López.

The support of Mercadona to the new buyers on their commitment to supplying products with the Hacendado brand, as they guarantee permanent quality, efficiency and innovation, is a key factor for closing the operation successfully.

Thus, the Group keeps advancing in the negotiation process with potential buyers for the Bread business in Paterna (Valencia) and Antequera (Málaga), and for the Long-Life bakery business and, specifically, factories in Briviesca and Medina (Castile and Leon), and Navarrés (Valencian Community).

About PastisArt

PastisArt is a family owned business, founded in 1990, specialised in in-store bakery and frozen products, which combines tradition with innovation. It is based in Terrassa (Barcelona) and has an 11,000 square metres factory in Roda de Berà (Tarragona). The company employs more than 250 people, has a production capacity of 30,000 tons of product per year and invoiced 41 million euros in 2018. PastisArt has 3 offices and a distribution network in Spain. At the international level, it mainly operates in France, Italy, United Kingdom, USA and Central America.

About Cerealto Siro Foods

Cerealto Siro Foods, born from the merger of Siro and Cerealto, is a multinational company that manufactures cereal based food products, supplying clients from the Retail and B2B sectors, with high doses of innovation and high potential for development in multiple markets. The Group has a consolidated turnover of more than EUR 600 million, currently employs more than 5,000 people and produces over 400,000 tons per year, in 17 production centres located in Spain, Portugal, Italy, United Kingdom and Mexico, in addition to a local team in USA. With an accumulated investment in 2018 of more than EUR 13 million in product innovation, its business model focuses on the consumer, quality, product and process innovation and operational excellence. In addition to a strong commitment to the development of the communities where it operates and the integration of people at risk of social exclusion, who account for more than 12 percent of the workforce.