Kraft man for Premier Foods

The former European chief of American food behemoth Kraft, who oversaw the merger with Cadbury, is to take the top job at Hovis-to-Oxo food firm Premier Foods.

Michael Clarke led the integration of Cadbury into Kraft, which saw its Somerdale factory near Bristol closed despite pledges from the US giant. He will replace veteran chief executive Robert Schofield on September 1, Premier said today.

There are no details of Clarke's pay package, but it will be "highly geared" towards turning around the business. Premier has been on the back foot in recent years after an ill-timed acquisition spree left it laden with debts. Clarke has high-level experience with Reebok and Coca-Cola.

The City cheered the appointment, sending Premier's shares up 10%, or 1.8p, to 19.9p. Panmure Gordon's Graham Jones said: "He clearly has the brand credentials that the market was looking for and, hopefully, he can inject some much-needed stability into the trading performance."

Two weeks ago Premier hit the City with its latest warning as it braced investors for a £30 million blow to profits in the first half. It blamed higher commodity costs, an "unprecedented" decline in markets and the loss of a contract from Marks & Spencer.