Aryzta boss buys 10,000 company shares

Aryzta boss Owen Killian has acquired 10,000 shares in the company, worth an estimated €428,000 at Friday's close.

Mr Killian has been battling to halt a slide in investor confidence linked to concerns about its acquisition strategy and the underlying health of its US business.

Shares in the Swiss-Irish food firm have dropped nearly 50 per cent since January amid concern the acquisition of a 49 per cent stake in French frozen food group Picard for €446 million was too expensive and represented a reversal of strategy.

Falling share values have also been linked to the under-performance of its North American business, which lists McDonald's and Subway among its customers.

Mr Killian’s move to beef up his own stake in the company, announced to the Irish and Swiss stock exchanges yesterday, saw shares in the company rise 3 per cent to €42.62 in Dublin – still a long way off its January high of €75.71.

Aryzta surprised market observers last month by announcing the disposal of its remaining stake in agri- services group Origin Enterprises for €228 million, a move it claimed would bolster its balance sheet.