Dole Food Company and a group of interested parties led by G's España entered into an agreement on April 25 whereby Dole has granted the group a period of exclusivity to carry out due diligence of its subsidiary Pascual Hermanos. During the exclusivity period, Dole will not negotiate Pascual's sale with any third parties.

According to G's parent company md John Shropshire, Pascual represents 'an outstanding opportunity for G's to acquire land, water and packing facilities in both the Aguilas and Torre Pacheco areas [in Murcia, south-east Spain] and a business led by a strong management team supported by a skilled workforce'.

No binding agreement has yet been reached, but if G's were to purchase Dole's 90.97 per cent controlling share in Pascual, it might bring stability to a business plagued by uncertainty for almost a decade.

Pascual Hermanos struggled through the early 1990s before its purchase by Dole Europe in 1996. Since then, the company, once among the largest citrus suppliers in Spain, has disappointed financial markets and lost millions of euros a year.

Torre-Pacheco based G's España is part of UK-based G's Marketing and supplies iceberg, broccoli, celery, radishes, onions, potatoes and melons exporting nearly two-thirds of its produce to the UK. It had a turnover of ?225million in its last financial year.