In a decisive pivot that marks the end of a global chapter, Bakkavor Group PLC, the UK-based giant in the ready-meals sector, has finalized its exit from China, sealing a $69 million agreement to sell its last remaining Chinese unit — a move with all the drama of a high-stakes corporate chess match.
The FTSE 250-listed company, known for supplying culinary staples like pizzas and salads to British grocery titans Tesco, Waitrose, and Marks & Spencer, said Tuesday it had signed a deal to offload Bakkavor China Holdings Ltd. to a subsidiary of Chinese food-tech player Lihoo’s.
The Final Chapter in a Two-Year Retreat
With this deal — priced at 500 million Chinese yuan ($69 million) — Bakkavor turns the page on its multi-year retreat from the world’s second-largest economy. The exit, expected to finalize in the latter half of 2025 pending regulatory green lights, follows its divestiture of a bakery business in April 2024 and an ongoing plan to sell its Hong Kong operations later this year.
“This agreement ties a bow on a complex, strategic reconfiguration,” Bakkavor said in a statement filed with the London Stock Exchange, echoing its ongoing effort to streamline international operations.
Over the past two years, the company had been methodically pulling back from its Chinese footprint — a move analysts have likened to a “slow but strategic surgical extraction.”
