Robert Schofield took the helm of Premier Foods in 2002. It may have seemed like a fairly normal business appointment — office in St Albans, suit and tie, board meetings, that kind of thing — but in truth since then the Macclesfield-born chief executive has been engaged in what looks like a grand version of supermarket sweep.

In his first year, Mr Schofield took his trolley down aisle 13 and bought brands including Branston, Sarson's and Sun Pat (through a deal with Nestlé). Ambrosia custard and rice pudding followed in 2003 (after a £106 million deal with Unilever). In 2004, after floating on the London Stock Exchange, Mr Schofield headed for the dessert shelf and bought Bird's custard and Angel Delight (from Kraft). The next year he opted for vegetarian and acquired the Quorn and Cauldron brands for £199 million. Next on the list, soups and sauces — in the form of a £460 million deal to buy Campbell's UK and Irish operations, adding brands such as Oxo, Batchelor's and Homepride.

He missed out on the biscuits — drat — as Blackstone and PAI Partners beat him to United Biscuits, securing the company for £1.6 billion in 2006, but Mr Schofield was undaunted. He began a top secret pursuit of its rival RHM and in March last year, Premier Foods completed the takeover of RHM for £1.2 billion, making Premier Britain's largest food company.

The City smiled on Premier and the company's share price hit 300p, for the first time since listing at 215p. A year later, however, it appears to have been an acquisition too far. While Mr Schofield has shown a ruthless willingness to cut costs and squeeze profits, yesterday he admitted that the company had been hit hard by price pressure on wheat and other commodities. After years on the acquisition trail, transforming the company, he does, perhaps, face new challenges.

Now 56, Mr Schofield graduated with honours from the University of East Anglia in 1973 and completed postgraduate studies at IMD in Switzerland in 1994. Then he spent eight years with Nestlé in the Far East, before becoming managing director of United Biscuits, directing the McVities and KP Foods businesses. In 2001 he joined Premier Foods — which had its origins in the canning industry in the 1930s — as head of the branded businesses.

He has two sons in their early twenties, is a keen squash player, an occasional golfer and is a staunch Manchester United fan.

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