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Bakkavor’s FTSE 350 profile comes into sharper focus as Greencore takeover nears key January milestones

Bakkavor Group (LSE: BAKK), one of the UK’s best-known fresh prepared food manufacturers, has been highlighted this week as part of the FTSE 350 “Food Producers”universe — a reminder of just how central the fresh prepared category has become to the UK’s everyday food system.

But the bigger story behind the index headline is structural: Bakkavor is approaching the final steps of its recommended acquisition by Greencore, with a clear timetable now in the public domain and FTSE index changes already signalled ahead of completion.

What’s happening now

FTSE Russell has announced that Bakkavor will be deleted from the FTSE 250 from 12 January 2026, linked to the court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement for Greencore’s acquisition. (As the FTSE 350 is built from the FTSE 100 + FTSE 250, this is the practical “index exit” moment for most market trackers.)

Separately, the transaction timetable indicates:

• Court hearing:15 January 2026

• Scheme effective date / completion expected:16 January 2026

• Cancellation of Bakkavor’s listing expected: by 8.00am on 19 January 2026

Why this matters beyond the stock market

Bakkavor’s presence in the FTSE 350 “Food Producers” grouping is often treated as a finance-side label — but it also reflects a broader reality: fresh prepared food is now core food infrastructure, sitting between farm output, ingredient supply, processing capability, packaging, chilled logistics, and major retail demand.

Bakkavor’s own positioning has long emphasised:

• UK leadership in Fresh Prepared Food, underpinned by supermarket partnerships and scale

• a growth platform in the US

• continued focus on waste, carbon and sustainability targets

Competition and resilience are now the key questions

Regulatory scrutiny has been a major feature of this deal. The UK competition regulator cleared the merger route via undertakings, including commitments tied to the chilled soups and sauces category.

That matters to the wider sector because supplier consolidation can cut both ways:

• Potential upside: scale efficiencies, investment capacity, improved operational resilience, stronger innovation pipelines

• Potential downside: fewer major buyers/suppliers in some categories, tighter leverage points in negotiations, and greater systemic exposure if disruption hits a concentrated node in the supply chain

UK Food Council viewpoint: what to watch next

As this moves through January’s final milestones, the UK Food Council will be watching for signals on:

• Supplier terms and category strategy(especially in chilled own-label lines)

• Operational continuity across sites, labour, and logistics

• Investment priorities(automation, waste reduction, cold-chain efficiency)

• How “scale” is used: to strengthen UK food resilience — or simply to protect margin in a high-cost environment

Key dates (at a glance):
12 Jan 2026 – FTSE Russell change (BAKK deletion from FTSE 250)
15 Jan 2026 – Court hearing / record time / last day of dealings (per timetable)
16 Jan 2026 – Scheme effective date (completion expected)
19 Jan 2026 – Listing cancellation expected (per timetable)

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