Rhodes Food The long and winding Rhodes…oh, shut up.
Last year, plucky newcomer Rhodes Food raised R600bar when it listed on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE). Now it’s in a spendin’ mood, and its first acquisition is likely to be Wellington-based juice business Pacmar, for the not insignificant sum of 165milion ronts. Pacmar has a poetically named bouquet of brands, covering both juices and wines, which include such exotic blooms as Wilde, Amazing, Zing and Crystal Falls. Rhodes itself, of course, makes jam, canned meats and fruits, and juice concentrates, and owns Magpie pies and posh pommie long-life fruit brand Trout Hall. The business has customers in Europe, the Far East, Australasia, Russia, US, Canada and the Middle East. Locally, it supplies Woolies with private label meals, ready to eat, and abroad, Waitrose and Tesco with private label canned fruit.
Comment: With its share price tilted gently skyward, Rhodes is one to watch.