Competition watchdog provisionally approves T&L Sugars’ deal

The competition watchdog has provisionally approved the deal for T&L Sugars to buy Tereos UK & Ireland’s retail sugar business.

T&L Sugars, which refines and distributes packaged sugar across supermarkets in the UK, bought Tereos’ consumer facing operations in the UK and a distribution facility in West Yorkshire in November 2023.

Tereos’ UK and Ireland unit packs and distributes Whitworths’ branded and private-label sugar in Normanton.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) referred the deal to an in-depth investigation in March after it found that the transaction could result in higher sugar prices for shoppers.

The CMA said: “We have carefully considered a broad range of evidence, including detailed examination of the financial performance of Tereos’ UK retail business, and the steps taken by Tereos to improve its performance.

“Based on this evidence, we have provisionally found that the most likely outcome is that Tereos’ UK retail business would have closed, absent the deal with TLS and on this basis we have provisionally decided to approve the merger.

The CMA added that a closure of Tereos’ UK retail business would also result in a loss of competition without the merger.