In a move which has already delivered significant value to Greencore shareholders, the group this week nearly trebled the size of its malting business with the purchase of Pauls Malt in Britain for £73 million. The market liked the deal, hoisting the share price which closed the week at 400p. . The acquisition, at a bargain price, was viewed as a significant earnings enhancer, making Greencore the biggest malting group in Britain, the third biggest in Europe and the fifth biggest in the world.

Chief executive David Dilger said that the group was taking on new malting capacity at a time when the industry was going through a cyclical low. While Pauls is currently producing operating profits of £5.5 million sterling on a turnover of £101 million, the company has considerable potential once the industry is back on a recovery track.

Analysts estimate it could enhance Greencore's earnings by around 1.5p a share next year, apart from substantially reducing dependence on the domestic sugar business. Pauls, the market leader in Britain, services the brewing and distilling industries and accounts for half of Britain's malt exports. The business will be integrated with Greencore's existing Minch Norton malting company in Ireland, the beefed-up division now having a capacity of 700,000 tonnes a year.