From sugar to convenience food: Greencore’s stellar rise

For many people, the name Greencore will be forever linked to sugar, the firm having been formed through the privatisation of the Irish Sugar Company in 1991.

However, the company closed the doors on its last sugar plant in Mallow in 2006. By that stage, it was well on the way to reinventing itself as a convenience food giant.

It was aided in this endeavour by a controversial €127 million in compensation from Brussels awarded in return for the closure of the Irish sugar industry.

The company now ranks as the biggest manufacturer of pre-packed sandwiches in the world, producing an estimated 430 million a year.

It controls more than half the UK sandwich market, supplying Marks & Spencer, Waitrose, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Asda, Lidl and Aldi among others.

As well as sandwiches, it manufactures a range of ready meals, wraps, salads, sauces and desserts.

In its last financial year, it generated €1.6 billion in sales and made an operating profit of €106 million, mainly in the UK, where most of its 11,000 staff are based.