ABF-backed food supply chain group Czarnikow plots £300m float

A specialist food supply chain group backed by Associated British Foods (ABF), the owner of Primark, is plotting a London stock market flotation that could value it at more than £300m.

Sky News has learnt that Czarnikow, which is based in the UK and is often referred to as CZ, has begun meeting prospective investors about an initial public offering that would take place in the coming months.

City sources said that bankers at Peel Hunt had been coordinating 'early-look' meetings with institutional investors to gauge their appetite for the company.

Czarnikow, which is named after its founder and traces its roots back to 1861, is 42.5%-owned by ABF, which counts British Sugar among its subsidiaries.

Macquarie, the Australian financial services powerhouse, also owns a 42.5% stake.

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The remainder is owned by an employee benefits trust, according to Czarnikow's website.

The company operates from 13 offices around the world and says it increased its workforce by nearly a quarter last year.

With a long heritage as a sugar trader, it operates across the food supply chain, including food ingredients, energy and packaging products.

It was unclear on Thursday how much money it might seek to raise in an IPO.

ABF, Macquarie and Czarnikow all declined to comment.