Camellia buys out remaining 20pc of Bardsley England

Agriculture group Camellia announced the purchase of the remaining 20% stake in fruit farming company Bardsley England on Wednesday, for £1.7m, from Bardsley Limited.

The AIM-traded firm said that as part of the purchase, Bardsley England sold an existing loan with a face value of £1.1m to Bardsley Limited, resulting in a net cash outflow from Camellia of £0.6m.

“There has been no material change to the financial information relating to Bardsley England since the prior announcement,” the Camellia board said, referring to its initial purchase of the 80% stake in August.

“However, the harvest this year has been disappointing due to adverse weather conditions and the business has also been impacted by weaker-than-expected customer demand.

“However, the long-term fundamentals of the business remain strong and various initiatives are in progress to improve its performance and profitability.”

At 1116 GMT, shares in Camellia were up 0.64% at 6,692.5p.