ACCC gags on B&J City Kitchen, Jewel Fine Foods chilled meal deal

A ready-cooked meal sold at Woolworths.

The $600m chilled prepared food market remains in a state of flux after the ACCC knocked back Woolworths-owned B&J City Kitchen’s bid to buy its rival Jewel Fine Foods.

Jewel went into voluntary administration earlier this year after a $70m expansion that involved building a new kitchen facility in Sydney’s Banksmeadow failed to deliver as promised.

Chilled prepared foods was treated as a distinct market by the ACCC and B&J and Jewel are the two main players.

Some argue the market definition could have been widened to include frozen or pasteurised meals which would have considerably broadened the market.

The chilled market is highly specialised because of concerns over food safety.

Woolworths own 23 per cent of B&J and supply Coles, Metcash and Harris Farms as well as Woolies.

Jewel went into voluntary administration with Ferrier Hodgson, which will now look for an alternate buyer to sell the business as a going concern.

Separately, Queensland Investment Corporation’s purchase of Sea Swift from Champ Ventures and Toll Holdings brings a change to a storeyed competition case. Four years ago Sea Swift and Toll merged, with Toll keeping 30 per cent of the combined company.

The ACCC wanted to block the merger between the Darwin-based Toll and Cairns-based Sea Swift as the main two cargo shippers at the north end of Australia.

The two operate between the mainland and the islands and operated successfully from their home base until a nasty spell of competition sent Toll into rapid retreat and threatened withdrawal.

The argument was if the two combined no-one else would enter the market but this was countered by Sea Swift which said smaller operators periodically appeared and in any case the community would benefit from a strong player with promises not to overcharge.

The business settled and Champ took the chance to exit.