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UK convenience food group Greencore has increased its bid for Bakkavor Group, according to a report from Bloomberg.

Bakkavor rejected two takeover bids from Greencore this month and is said to be considering the enhanced proposal.

Greencore made its first proposal on 25 February 2025, which Bakkavor’s board rejected two days later. Following this, Greencore then approached the food group with a revised proposal on 7 March, implying a total equity value of £1.14 billion for Bakkavor.

Bloomberg News revealed earlier this month that Greencore had approached Bakkavor to express interest in a tie-up. Greencore later confirmed the move, stating that it is looking to build scale by combining complementary businesses and touting the potential synergies from a transaction.

Based in Dublin, Greencore was founded in 1991. It supplies sandwiches, chilled prepared meals and cooking sauces to major supermarkets in the UK as well as travel retail outlets and coffee shops. It is led by CEO Dalton Philips, who previously ran British grocer Morrisons until 2015.

Bakkavor operates internationally, primarily in the UK with a growing presence in the US and China. Headquartered in London, the group has over 20,000 employees in total and supplies fresh convenience food to major grocery retailers including Tesco, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose. In 2024, it reported revenue growth of 4%. 

The bid will need to be approved by Bakkavor’s founders, who still own around half of the company.