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"The board of ABF has been conducting a review of the group structure with a view to maximising long-term value," it said. Sign up here. "Although no decision has been taken, the outcome of this review may lead to the board deciding to undertake a separation of the Primark and Food businesses." The group said the review was being conducted in consultation with its largest shareholder, Wittington Investments, which remained committed to maintaining majority ownership of both businesses. It said Rothschild & Co had been assisting the board with the review. In addition to Primark, which trades from 475 stores in 18 countries, the group owns grocery brands such as Ovaltine, Ryvita and Twinings as well as major agriculture and ingredients businesses. AB Foods has said for decades that while it keeps its conglomerate structure under constant review it believed the structure worked well. "We keep the structure under review because we have to, but the combination of the two, food and Primark, has worked really well for a long, long time," CEO George Weston told Reuters in April. The group made adjusted operating profit, its preferred profit measure, of 1.734 billion pounds ($2.33 billion) in the year to September 13, on group revenue down 3% at 19.46 billion pounds. While adjusted operating profit increased 2% at Primark, it fell 6% in grocery, while sugar was only breakeven, hurt by low European prices. "In 2026, we expect the group to deliver growth in adjusted operating profit and adjusted EPS, and we are confident in the Group's medium and long-term growth prospects," AB Foods said. However, it cautioned it expected the consumer environment to remain subdued. Shares in AB Foods have increased 11.6% in 2025 so far, giving it a market capitalisation of 16.34 billion pounds. ($1 = 0.7451 pounds) Reporting by James Davey, Editing by Paul Sandle
