Premier Foods considering price hikes in aftermath of Brexit vote

Premier Foods confirmed on Tuesday that it is considering upping its prices in the aftermath of the Brexit vote.

The company, which owns the Mr Kipling and Bisto brands, put out a statement in response to a report by City AM, which said the group opened discussions last month with Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda as the weaker pound takes its toll.

A spokeswoman for the company said in a statement: "The situation on pricing differs between our different categories and brands and is currently under discussion with our individual retail customers.

"On average we are considering rises around the mid-single digit mark."

In its half-year results back in November, Premier highlighted sterling’s depreciation since the EU referendum and the fact that certain imported raw material costs were increasing.

It said at the time: “While the group has forward cover in place for certain currencies and commodities, the benefits of these are only short term in nature and the group continues to look to minimise direct and indirect currency exposure through a range of mitigating actions, in line with its policy.”

At 1223 GMT, Premier shares were down 0.6% to 45p.