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U.K. (FTSE) Food Industry Analysis

UpdatedJan 13, 2026
DataAggregated Company Financials
Companies18
  • 7D-7.7%
  • 3M-8.4%
  • 1Y-2.7%
  • YTD-7.2%

Over the last 7 days, the Food industry has dropped 7.7%, driven by a pullback from Associated British Foods of 14%. As for the longer term, the industry's performance has been flat for the past year. Earnings are forecast to grow by 9.2% annually.

Industry Valuation and Performance

Has the U.K. Food Industry valuation changed over the past few years?

DateMarket CapRevenueEarningsPEAbsolute PEPS
Tue, 13 Jan 2026UK£25.2bUK£39.1bUK£1.8b15.2x13.7x0.6x
Thu, 11 Dec 2025UK£27.2bUK£38.8bUK£1.8b14.8x15.2x0.7x
Sat, 08 Nov 2025UK£28.1bUK£38.6bUK£1.8b15.7x15.9x0.7x
Mon, 06 Oct 2025UK£25.8bUK£38.8bUK£2.1b15.4x12.5x0.7x
Wed, 03 Sep 2025UK£27.4bUK£38.5bUK£2.1b18.8x13.3x0.7x
Fri, 01 Aug 2025UK£27.9bUK£38.5bUK£2.0b19.3x14x0.7x
Sun, 29 Jun 2025UK£27.0bUK£38.5bUK£2.0b18.7x13.6x0.7x
Tue, 27 May 2025UK£27.1bUK£38.8bUK£2.1b16x12.8x0.7x
Thu, 24 Apr 2025UK£27.0bUK£38.4bUK£2.2b15.4x12.5x0.7x
Sat, 22 Mar 2025UK£25.1bUK£38.2bUK£2.1b15.1x11.7x0.7x
Mon, 17 Feb 2025UK£25.4bUK£38.2bUK£2.2b15x11.8x0.7x
Wed, 15 Jan 2025UK£25.2bUK£38.2bUK£2.2b11.8x11.7x0.7x
Fri, 13 Dec 2024UK£27.7bUK£38.3bUK£2.2b13x12.7x0.7x
Sun, 10 Nov 2024UK£28.3bUK£38.2bUK£2.1b12.5x13.2x0.7x
Tue, 08 Oct 2024UK£28.4bUK£38.2bUK£1.9b14x15x0.7x
Thu, 05 Sep 2024UK£29.7bUK£38.3bUK£1.9b14.8x15.8x0.8x
Sat, 03 Aug 2024UK£30.9bUK£41.8bUK£2.4b14x13.1x0.7x
Mon, 01 Jul 2024UK£30.6bUK£41.8bUK£2.4b13.8x12.9x0.7x
Wed, 29 May 2024UK£32.2bUK£41.9bUK£2.4b14.7x13.6x0.8x
Fri, 26 Apr 2024UK£31.9bUK£41.5bUK£2.4b14.6x13.2x0.8x
Sun, 24 Mar 2024UK£27.8bUK£38.3bUK£1.8b14.6x15.8x0.7x
Tue, 20 Feb 2024UK£26.6bUK£38.3bUK£1.7b16.5x15.6x0.7x
Thu, 18 Jan 2024UK£28.3bUK£41.9bUK£2.2b15.2x12.7x0.7x
Sat, 16 Dec 2023UK£29.1bUK£41.9bUK£2.2b15.5x13.1x0.7x
Mon, 13 Nov 2023UK£28.1bUK£41.3bUK£1.7b17x16.5x0.7x
Wed, 11 Oct 2023UK£25.6bUK£40.1bUK£1.3b19.4x19x0.6x
Fri, 08 Sep 2023UK£25.5bUK£39.9bUK£1.4b14.2x18.2x0.6x
Sun, 06 Aug 2023UK£26.2bUK£40.0bUK£1.3b14.2x20.1x0.7x
Tue, 04 Jul 2023UK£25.8bUK£40.6bUK£1.3b13.2x20.1x0.6x
Thu, 01 Jun 2023UK£24.9bUK£40.6bUK£1.3b13.9x19.3x0.6x
Sat, 29 Apr 2023UK£26.1bUK£39.7bUK£1.1b14.8x24.1x0.7x
Mon, 27 Mar 2023UK£25.5bUK£38.0bUK£1.1b14.4x24.1x0.7x
Wed, 22 Feb 2023UK£26.0bUK£38.3bUK£1.1b13.2x22.7x0.7x
Fri, 20 Jan 2023UK£25.0bUK£38.4bUK£1.1b12.9x21.8x0.7x
Price to Earnings Ratio

21.8x


Total Market Cap: UK£25.0bTotal Earnings: UK£1.1bTotal Revenue: UK£38.4bTotal Market Cap vs Earnings and Revenue0%0%0%
U.K. Food Industry Price to Earnings3Y Average 15.6x202420252026
Current Industry PE
  • Investors are pessimistic on the British Food industry, indicating that they anticipate long term growth rates will be lower than they have historically.
  • The industry is trading at a PE ratio of 13.7x which is lower than its 3-year average PE of 15.6x.
  • The industry is trading close to its 3-year average PS ratio of 0.69x.
Past Earnings Growth
  • The earnings for companies in the Food industry have grown 17% per year over the last three years, while revenues have remained mostly flat.
  • This means that companies overall are more efficiently conducting business since profits are increasing while sales have been flat.

Industry Trends

Which industries have driven the changes within the U.K. Consumer Staples industry?

GB Market1.48%
Consumer Staples0.68%
Food-7.72%
Agricultural Products-0.014%
Packaged Foods and Meats-8.18%
Industry PE
  • Investors are most optimistic about the Packaged Foods and Meats industry even though it's trading below its 3-year average PE ratio of 17.4x.
    • Analysts are expecting annual earnings growth of 10.1%, which is lower than the prior year's growth of 20.9% per year.
  • Investors are most pessimistic about the Agricultural Products industry, which is trading close to its 3-year average of 9.3x.
Forecasted Growth
  • Analysts are most optimistic on the Packaged Foods and Meats industry, expecting annual earnings growth of 10% over the next 5 years.
  • However this is lower than its past earnings growth rate of 21% per year.
  • In contrast, the Agricultural Products industry is expected to see its earnings decline by 8.8% per year over the next few years.

Top Stock Gainers and Losers

Which companies have driven the market over the last 7 days?

CompanyLast Price7D1YValuation
BAKK Bakkavor GroupUK£2.454.9%
+UK£66.5m		87.7%PE36.4x
GNC Greencore GroupUK£2.605.5%
+UK£58.4m		53.0%PE19.5x
TATE Tate & LyleUK£3.732.9%
+UK£46.8m		-40.7%PE48.5x
MHPC MHPUS$7.946.7%
+US$53.5m		58.2%PE4x
MPE M.P. Evans GroupUK£12.551.6%
+UK£10.4m		31.8%PE8.2x

Latest News

GNC
UK£2.60
Greencore Group
7D
5.5%
1Y
53.0%
ABF
UK£18.38
Associated British Foods
7D
-14.4%
1Y
-6.0%
BAKK
UK£2.45
Bakkavor Group
7D
4.9%
1Y
87.7%
HFG
UK£4.94
Hilton Food Group
7D
-1.5%
1Y
-42.3%

HFG: Leadership Transition And Margin Resilience Will Support Future Share Price Upside

Hilton Food Group's narrative update reflects a reset in analyst expectations, with Street price targets pulled back to a range of around £5.40 to £8.50 per share, as analysts factor in modest tweaks to discount rates, revenue growth assumptions, profit margins and future P/E multiples. Analyst Commentary Recent research updates point to a more cautious but still engaged analyst community, with price targets now clustered between £5.40 and £8.50 per share.
MHPC
US$7.94
MHP
7D
6.7%
1Y
58.2%

These 4 Measures Indicate That MHP (LON:MHPC) Is Using Debt Extensively

Jan 08
These 4 Measures Indicate That MHP (LON:MHPC) Is Using Debt Extensively
PFD
UK£1.68
Premier Foods
7D
0.6%
1Y
-3.2%

We Like These Underlying Return On Capital Trends At Premier Foods (LON:PFD)

Jan 06
We Like These Underlying Return On Capital Trends At Premier Foods (LON:PFD)
TATE
UK£3.73
Tate & Lyle
7D
2.9%
1Y
-40.7%

TATE: Future Earnings Profile Will Reflect Dividend Increase And Soft Revenue Outlook

Analysts have slightly reduced their price target on Tate & Lyle to reflect a broadly unchanged fair value of approximately £3.99, despite modest upgrades to revenue growth and profit margin assumptions and a lower future P/E multiple. What's in the News Board approves a higher interim dividend of 6.6 pence per share for the six months to 30 September 2025, up from 6.4 pence in 2024, payable on 5 January 2026 to shareholders on the register as of 21 November 2025 (Key Developments) Company maintains full year guidance for the year ending 31 March 2026, expecting revenue to decline by a low single digit percentage compared with the prior year (Key Developments) Valuation Changes Fair Value: edged down slightly from £4.00 to £3.99 per share, implying a negligible change in estimated intrinsic value.
CWK
UK£49.10
Cranswick
7D
0.3%
1Y
5.3%
AEP
UK£13.70
AEP Plantations
7D
-2.1%
1Y
123.9%
MPE
UK£12.55
M.P. Evans Group
7D
1.6%
1Y
31.8%
SALT
UK£0.54
MicroSalt
7D
14.9%
1Y
-30.3%
PRN
UK£4.60
Princes Group
7D
-2.1%
1Y
n/a
DISH
UK£0.001
Amala Foods
7D
-4.5%
1Y
n/a
CAM
UK£49.75
Camellia
7D
-1.5%
1Y
3.2%