AB Foods to Separate Its Budget Fashion Chain Primark

Associated British Foods Plc will separate budget fashion chain Primark and break up one of the UK’s biggest conglomerates after more than three decades.

The move, which many investors believed the billionaire controlling Weston family would never consider, will turn Primark into one of Europe’s biggest standalone clothing companies, facing up to rivals like Inditex SA and H&M. The separate food arm will span groceries to sugar plantations.