Geest has purchased a French prepared leaf salads company, giving it a third French production facility. The UK food group paid £1.6m to buy French La Société Bretonne do Légumes (SBLP) from an agricultural cooperative.

Based in Brittany, Northern France, SBLP reported turnover worth £4.1m for the year ended August 2001.

Geest's executive chairman Ian Menzies-Gow said: 'The acquisition strengthens our position in the growing prepared salads market in France – an area in which we have considerable experience in the UK – and improves our ability to distribute short shelf life products on a national scale to major retailers.'