Neil Court-Johnston is returning to Northern Foods as commercial director of ready meals after its recent sale of Pork Farms to Vision Capital.

Court-Johnston first joined Northern Foods as group customer director in March 2005 after three years as customer director of Wal-Mart Europe at Nestlé.

He was promoted to commercial director of Pork Farms in 2006, where he played an integral part in Northern Foods' divestment of the company.

"Shortly after taking the Pork Farms role, I was talking to venture capitalists," said Court-Johnston.

"I was then managing the sale and the due diligence process, providing the new owners with a three-year plan and a platform to radically develop business performance."

Court-Johnston had already restructured the Pork Farms business, which included the closure of the Trafford Park bakery, and relaunched the brand last summer.

Its disposal was part of a larger divestment strategy by Northern Foods, which also sold Fletchers Bakeries, Smiths Flour Mills and Park Cakes to Vision Capital, a private equity firm, for £160m last November. By selling these businesses, Northern Foods planned to focus its attention on pizza, biscuits, ready meals, sandwiches and Christmas puddings.

"I am very excited. There is a new leadership team and Stefan Barden has carved a clear vision of his business expectations," said Court-Johnston.

"We have got fantastic products and I intend to bring pace and trust to the role and create a platform for sustainable growth," he added.

Vision Capital has reviewed the structure of Pork Farms with the intention of creating a more customer-focused business. Following this review, Court-Johnston's former role will not be refilled.

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