Unilever has signed a definitive agreement to sell its Turkish olive oil brand Komili to Ana Gida, which is part of the Anadolu Group.

The transaction, for which no financial details have been given, is part of the international food company's plans to dispose of its non-strategic brands, which have a collective turnover of more than €2 billion (£1.6 billion).

Komili generated around €26 million in turnover for Unilever last year.

The deal, which is still subject to approval from regulators, is expected to close sometime this year.

In May, Patrick Cescau, the chief executive of Unilever, said the company had a "good start to the year", with strong growth across all its categories.

He was speaking after Unilever published results that showed underlying sales growth in the first quarter was 7.2 per cent.

Growth in all categories was up, especially in ice cream, tea and laundry.

Unilever employs thousands of people in Manchester, Warrington and Merseyside.