Egm in the X-ray: High Quality Food's strategies after the agreement with Cirio Agricola

Only that High Quality Food also intends to grow and, although in 2025 it received approval for the supply chain project linked to the 'V Bando per i Contratti di Filiera' managed by the Ministry of Agriculture with the collaboration of Ismea for an amount of no less than 18 million (very high given the size of the company), in addition to 4 million for the subsidiary High Quality Food Agricola, bureaucratic and legal red tape meant that more than three years elapsed between participation in the call and approval of the project. As for the investments under the Notice for Supply Chain Contracts, which have already begun, they will be completed by 2026, and those of the parent company will be financed in part through non-repayable grants (with a percentage of 38%, which rises to 58% for High Quality Food Agricola; the remaining part will be covered through subsidised loans granted by financial intermediaries accredited to Cassa Depositi e Prestiti.

In particular, High Quality Food intends to invest by purchasing and upgrading the operating sites in Rome and Milan, installing photovoltaic systems, building new research and development laboratories, developing - as already emphasised - the dairy sector, building a new cowshed, and upgrading the zootechnical and production infrastructures. There are also plans to obtain new certifications (Iso 14001, Isp 14064) in addition to those already held by the group, also with the aim of developing new products conforming to the kosher and halal indications, which represent a strongly growing market segment. We also take into account the fact that in the first half of 2025 High Quality Food generated 37.6% of its revenues abroad (mainly in the UK), an increase of 4.6% to 3.5 million compared to the same period in 2024, while turnover in Italy fell by 7.8% to 5.9 million.

However, as at 30/6/2025, the company showed a net financial debt of EUR 9.5 million, up from EUR 8.6 million at the end of 2024, and with a Debt/Equity ratio of about 1.12 times, certainly not worrying, but not such as to allow it to finance the planned investments in the short term while waiting for the funding from the call for tenders. Hence the partnership with Proposta Terza; the minibond is primarily used to finance the purchase of real estate for the operational headquarters.

At the end of 2025, the operating headquarters in Cernusco sul Naviglio (Milan), already leased and located within the 'Le Pagode' complex, was purchased; the amount is 450,000 euro and was covered with the collection of the first tranche of the minibond, which will also be used to support the renovation and energy efficiency works. Above all, however, €530,000 was paid as a down payment for the new Rome headquarters, but at the closing the balance of €4.77 million must be paid, against which Proposta Terza will subscribe the second €2 million tranche of the minibond. It should be remembered that High Quality Food will have to start repaying the loan starting from the sixth year from the issue (i.e. from 2031), while Proposta Terza may alternatively request conversion into newly issued High Quality Food shares.

The minibond will not particularly weigh heavily on High Quality Food's financial balance given the low interest rate; on the other hand, the costs for raw material purchases are set to rise progressively given the commitment to purchase dairy products under the Fagianeria brand. But this strategy is probably the most functional for the development of the group. The Agricultural High Quality Food Network now has 31 partner companies, including the Società Agricola Vitivinicola Italiana, which belongs to the Knights of Malta (again, an illustrious provenance) and holds the 'Terre dei Cavalieri' brand with wine, meat and oil production, all premium.

High Quality Food is small and little known, especially to the general public, targeting mostly the Ho.Re.Ca. channel. However, the partnership with Cirio Agricola could change things. And that's not all: the media company Hqf Studio was born, which at the beginning of 2025 aired the first videopodcast available on all major streaming platforms, entitled "Madeleine, la cucina ricorda" (Madeleine, the kitchen remembers), which recounts 10 protagonists of contemporary Italian cuisine (starred chefs) in as many episodes, based on their first memories of taste and flavour. Obviously taking the cue from Proust's well-known madeleine.

The guidelines of the 2025 - 2029 Industrial Plan (also thanks to a promotional plan to increase the visibility of the Buongusterai e-commerce site and of the High Quality Food brand shops and butcher shops) envisage the achievement at the end of the Plan of revenues of 38 million (20 million estimated for 2025) with a production increase of 50%, 40% and 35% in the years 2027, 2028 and 2029 for the veal, chicken and beef product lines; as a result of production efficiencies, raw material purchase costs should decrease from an estimated 53% in 2025 to 50% in 2029, and the ebitda margin should increase from an estimated 8% in 2025 to 17%, growing in absolute terms from EUR 1.6 million to EUR 6.5 million.

High Quality Food, like so many companies on Euronext Growth Milan, is thinly traded even though the free float is not very low (24.8% of the share capital, and this is not likely to change for now given the characteristics of the convertible minibond). The shareholders include two important institutional investors, Mediolanum Gestione Fondi Sgr and Algebris, each with a stake of just under 6% of the share capital; it is, moreover, an attractive stock mainly for an institutional audience that is also willing to invest for at least a medium-term horizon.