Seven years ago Soreen was a basket case. Following aggressive expansion in the 2000s, parent company McCambridge Foods (now Bright Blue Foods) bit off more than it could chew, acquiring the defunct Inter Link Foods for £47.1m in 2007, plunging it into a succession of loss-making performances.

“Hats off to McCambridge for turning the ailing business around”

Arabella Mileham, fmcg reporter

So hats off to the management for turning the ailing business around - culminating in the sale of the fruity malt loaf brand to Samworth Brothers this week.

After swapping 60% equity in the business for a £32m injection from Barclays Ventures, its painful recovery started with a management reshuffle in April 2009, followed by the sale of five of its niche bakeries and a divestment of non-core activity.

In the meantime, it revamped the flagship Soreen brand, repositioning it as a convenience ready-to-go snack and racking up 47.8% more sales over the past two years. Soreen and Ginsters would have been unlikely bedfellows seven years ago. Not any more. And with more NPD in the pipeline, it looks a good deal for both parties.