Food-to-go sales have continued to grow at Greencore, although overall performance has been dented by other parts of the business.

The company reported a 4.5% rise in revenue from food-to-go to £240.9m in the 13 weeks ending 27 December 2019. Greencore said the increase followed the company’s acquisition of salads business Freshtime last year.

However, reported revenue from other convenience food categories fell 3% to £126.9m, which Greencore said reflected the business ending the manufacture of longer-life ready meals from its Kiveton facility.

Group revenue increased 1.8% to £367.8m, in what the company said had “continued to be a challenging trading environment”.

“We continue to make good strides in the diverse, attractive and growing UK food-to-go market,” added Greencore chief executive officer Patrick Coveney.

“Our strategy to drive growth, to deepen customer relevance and to pursue a distinctive and repeatable way of working is well embedded across the business. Following a steady start to 2020, we look forward to delivering a year of profitable growth.”

Greencore also announced the appointment of two new non-executive directors, Helen Weir and Paul Drechsler.

Weir was previously chief financial officer at Marks & Spencer from 2015 to 2018 and finance director at John Lewis Partnership. She is currently a non-executive director of Superdry, Just Eat and Cineworld.

Drechsler is a board member at the International Chamber of Commerce (UK), and previously served as president of CBI. He currently serves as chair of Bibby Line Group and of the Advisory Board of Mentore Consulting.

“We are delighted that both Helen and Paul are joining the board,” said Greencore chairman Gary Kennedy. “Their individual skills, as well extensive experience and expertise, will be highly beneficial to both the board and the group."