After a white-knuckle ride through the pandemic, supply chain disruption and the cost of living crisis, Britain’s biggest food and drink companies have arrived at an inflection point.

Ahead of Rachel Reeves’ November budget, FDF research found confidence among manufacturers had fallen to its lowest point since Covid. Yet as this year’s ranking and report on the country’s top 150 food manufacturers from OC&C shows: when others hesitate, that’s the time for action.

“Yes, uncertainty remains, but if you wait for that to settle you’re going to be waiting a long time,” says Houlihan Lokey MD Garyth Stone.