Enlarged Finsbury Food hungry for growth

A great British hunger for cakes has driven growth at the recently-enlarged Finsbury Food Group.

The food manufacturer reported strong trading in the new financial year in its trading update, with total sales revenue up a whopping 78.1% on last year, to £102m in the first four months.

That figure includes 10.1%, or £5.8m in organic growth.

UK baking grew by 8.7% and the overseas division - which consists of Finsbury’s 50% share in a European manufacturer - grew 19.4%.

Much of Finsbury’s trading growth could be attributed to its recent acquisitions. It took over Johnstone’s in June - just before the start of the financial year - and marked the first anniversary of its purchase of Fletchers in October.

Despite the British appetite for baked goods remaining strong, Finsbury reported an uncertain outlook in terms of trading and the economic environment. The board said it expects most of the group’s growth to come from the aforementioned acquisitions this year.

As of 10:15 on Wednesday, shares in Finsbury Food were up 2.38% to 107.5p.