The Irish-based company said the appointment is a result of the mandatory rotation of external auditor following the introduction of EU audit reform and changes to the UK corporate governance code. KPMG was appointed as auditor in 2008.

In a statement, Greencore said: ‘The appointment follows a competitive tender process overseen by the audit committee. The board would like to thank each of the other firms who participated in the audit tender process, and looks forward to working with Deloitte in the future.’

KPMG will continue in its role as external auditor until the end of the audit for the financial year ending 28 September 2018. The board will formally recommend the new appointment to shareholders at the 2019 annual general meeting.

According to its 2016 annual report, Greencore paid KPMG a total of £1.59m for the year, made up of £695,000 for audit services, plus £350,000 in non-audit fees relating to the proposed acquisition of Peacock Foods, while an additional £547,000 was paid to other firms in the lead audit firms network in relation to a historic matter which was pre-existing on a group acquisition.