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Vape manufacturer Supreme has agreed to sell the intellectual property of premium e-cig liquid brand T-Juice to a French wholesaler for €4.5m.
The group, which makes, licences and distributes a range of fmcg products, entered a strategic partnership with La Vape Professional Distribution (LVP), a company associated with one of France’s largest wholesalers of electronic cigarettes and e-liquids.
Supreme will retain the exclusive manufacturing rights to T-Juice, with minimum €15m of revenue over five years for the group.
The brand was originally acquired as part of the Cuts Ice asset deal, which completed in August 2022 where the total value of the intangible assets acquired was £1.4m.
Supreme said the agreement would enable it to focus on its core manufacturing expertise and margin expansion, while also simplifying costs.
CEO Sandy Chadha added LVP was “ideally placed to fully capitalise on the strength of the brand across Europe given their extensive and well-established distribution”.
“These agreements will enable Supreme to do what it does best - to further leverage our manufacturing footprint and maximise our margin potential across our product mix in the near term.
“Not only does this deliver a significant return on our initial investment, but we have secured a highly lucrative five-year manufacturing agreement, which ensures Supreme remains well positioned to fully capitalise with LVP on their established European market presence and sales footprint.”
Morning update
It is a quiet morning for food and drink on the LSE ahead of today’s Budget.
The governement announced a U-turn this morning on capping energy bills, extending the support for households by maintaining the limit on a typical annual household bill at £2,500, which had been due to rise to £3,000 next month.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: “High energy bills are one of the biggest worries for families, which is why we’re maintaining the energy price guarantee at its current level.
“With energy bills set to fall from July onwards, this temporary change will bridge the gap and ease the pressure on families, while also helping to lower inflation, too.”
Hunt will deliver the budget at 12.30pm today.
Elsewhere, Britvic briefly outlines how the search for a new CFO is going.
The drinks group confirmed Joanne Wilson’s resignation - announced in November - will take effect from 18 April. Britvic said the process of appointing a successor was “already well underway” and the group would make a further announcement as soon as this was finalised.
The FTSE 100 is back under pressure this morning after yesterday’s reprieve, dropping 0.6% to 7,593.65pts.
Earlier fmcg risers include Science in Sport, up 3.7% to 14p, Glanbia, up 2.1% to €13.21, Hotel Chocolat Group, up 1.5% to 202p, and Kerry Group, up 1% to 89.7p.
Virgin Wine UK has tumbled further this morning (see below), down another 4.4% to 43p, while THG is down 2% to 60.4p and Ocado is down 1.8% to 433.5p.
Yesterday in the City
The FTSE 100 made a partial recovery yesterday, climbing 1.2% to 7,637.55pts. London’s leading index remains down by 3.6% over the past five trading days.
Shares in Virgin Wines UK plunged 5.9% to 45.7p after it announced a wholesale business review amid plummeting first-half sales and profits. The stock is now down 40% so far this year and by 66% over the past year, well off its admission price of 197p when it floated in AIM in February 2021.
Grocery tech firm Eagle Eye saw shares increase 1.4% to 580.5p after its reported revenue growth of 32% to £20m in its first half.
Sainsbury’s was also up 1.1% to 257.2p after sealing a £431m deal to buy freeholds of 21 supermarkets.
SSP Group and Ocado were also among yesterday’s risers, up 4.1% to 255.8p and 3.9% to 440.2p respectively, while Science in Sport fell 3% to 13.1p.
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