Food and drink manufacturer Princes has announced the appointment of Simon Harrison as its Chief Executive.
The group noted that since his appointment as Deputy Managing Director in June last year, Princes has seen growth across all its key business units and has also acquired a number of major customers, which is said to have led to record trading performance across the last 12 months.
Harrison has more than 20 years FMCG commercial and leadership experience across brand and trade marketing, sales and operations. Prior to joining Princes, he spent three years as VP of Commercial Development at Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP).
Harrison’s appointment as CEO comes after the departure of the company’s Managing Director, Cameron Mackintosh. He is leaving the business after 22 years “to pursue new opportunities”.
Commenting on the change, Kazuhito Suematsu, Chairman of Princes Group, said: “Under Simon’s tenure as deputy managing director, our business has gained significant momentum. He will continue to accelerate this growth as CEO. Having overseen major investment into Princes’ infrastructure in recent years, Cameron Mackintosh will be leaving the business, and we wish him well for the future.”
Harrison added: “I’m delighted to have been appointed as CEO to lead this fantastic business on its next phase of growth and to capitalise on the significant opportunities available to us, whilst continuing our unique mission of ‘proudly offering great tasting choices for everyone without costing the earth’.”
Recently published accounts showed that Princes had slipped from a pre-tax profit of £28.9m to a loss of £50.7m over the 12 months to 31 March 2023. However, an impairment charge of £57.7m was central to the Liverpool-based company becoming loss-making.
Over the last year, Japan’s Mitsubishi has been trying to sell Princes, seeking a price of around £400m. In February, it was revealed that Italian food group Newlat had halted talks to buy the manufacturer after Mitsubishi rejected a revised offer.
