Burton's Biscuit Company is a British
biscuit
A biscuit is a flour-based baked and shaped food product. In most countries biscuits are typically hard, flat, and unleavened. They are usually sweet and may be made with sugar, chocolate, icing, jam, ginger, or cinnamon. They can also be ...
manufacturer. It is recognised in the
UK as the second-biggest supplier of biscuits. The company was formed by the merger of Burton's Gold Medal Biscuits and Horizon Biscuit Company in October 2000. It re-branded from Burton's Foods to Burton's Biscuit Company in November 2011. It employs over 2,200 people around the UK, in three main manufacturing facilities,
Llantarnam
Llantarnam ( cy, Llanfihangel Llantarnam) is a suburban village of Cwmbran, and is a community and electoral ward in the county borough of Torfaen in south east Wales. The ward covers the same area as the community, but also includes Southville. ...
,
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
and
Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...
, a chocolate refinery in
Moreton Moreton may refer to:
People Given name
* Moreton John Wheatley (1837–1916), British Army officer and Bailiff of the Royal Parks
Surname
* Alice Bertha Moreton (1901–1977), English sculptor, draughtsman and artist
* Andrew Moreton, a p ...
, and a central distribution hub in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
. Its head office is in
St Albans
St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...
.
Burton's is the UK's number two biscuit maker and many of its products are sold globally.
History
The first Burton's biscuits were baked by George Burton (born 1829,
Leek
The leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of ''Allium ampeloprasum'', the broadleaf wild leek ( syn. ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a stem or stalk. The genus ''Alli ...
, Staffordshire), who began production on Corporation Street,
Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...
, Lancashire. The Burton's Biscuits firm was founded by George's grandson, Joseph Burton, in 1935. It had a factory in
Slough
Slough () is a town and unparished area in the unitary authority of the same name in Berkshire, England, bordering west London. It lies in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4 ...
, Berkshire, until the early 1980s, manufacturing potato crisps and snacks, including Potato Puffs and Fish 'n' Chips savoury snacks. In 2014, Burton's re-launched their Fish 'n' Chips snacks due to popular demand.
In 2000, the business was sold by
Associated British Foods
Associated British Foods plc (ABF) is a British multinational food processing and retailing company headquartered in London, England. Its ingredients division is the world's second-largest producer of both sugar and baker's yeast and a major pr ...
to
Hicks Muse Tate & Furst
HM Capital Partners was a private equity firm in the United States that specialized in leveraged buyouts. The firm was previously known as Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst. It was founded in 1989 by Tom Hicks and John Muse as Hicks, Muse & Co. and was c ...
. On 18 March 2007, Burton's was acquired by
Duke Street Capital
Duke Street is a private equity firm focused on leveraged buyout and growth capital investments in middle-market companies in Western Europe, particularly the UK and France.
The firm which is based in London was founded in 1988 as Hambro Europe ...
. In September 2009, Burton's came under the new ownership of
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC; french: Banque canadienne impériale de commerce) is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered at CIBC Square in the Financial District of Toronto, Ontario. ...
and
Apollo Global Management
Apollo Global Management, Inc. is an American global private-equity firm. It provides investment management and invests in credit, private equity, and real assets. As of March 31, 2022, the company had $512 billion of assets under management, ...
, with a minority stake held by Duke Street.
In 2013, the company was put up for sale, with an asking price around £350m. In November of that year, it was announced that the company had been bought by the
Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan
The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board (french: Régime de retraite des enseignantes et des enseignants de l'Ontario) is an independent organization responsible for administering defined-benefit pensions for school teachers of the Canadian pr ...
.
In 2016, Burton's sold its licence to make
Cadbury
Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational confectionery company fully owned by Mondelez International (originally Kraft Foods) since 2010. It is the second largest confectionery brand in the world after Mar ...
-branded biscuits to
Mondelēz International
Mondelez International, Inc. ( ), often styled Mondelēz, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational confectionery, food industry, food, holding and drink industry, beverage and snack food company based in Chicago. Mondelez has an ...
(the owners of Cadbury), although they are still made in Burton's factories.
In June 2021, it was announced that the company had been bought by the
Ferrero SpA
Ferrero SpA (), more commonly known as Ferrero Group or simply Ferrero, is an Italian multinational company with headquarters in Alba, Italy. manufacturer of branded chocolate and confectionery products, and the second biggest chocolate producer ...
.
Ferrero family buys Jammie Dodgers maker Burton’s
at ''The Guardian'',
Brands
*Jammie Dodgers
Jammie Dodgers are a popular British biscuit, made from shortcake with a raspberry or strawberry flavoured jam filling. Introduced in 1960, they are currently produced by Burton's Biscuit Company at its factory in Llantarnam.
In 2009, Jammie Do ...
* Lyons Biscuits
** Lyons Coconut Delights
** Lyons Cookies
** Lyons Digestive
** Lyons Fig Rolls
** Lyons Jam Teacakes
** Lyons Toffypops
**Viscount
A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status.
In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...
*Maryland Cookies
Maryland Cookies are a brand name of cookie produced by Burton's Biscuit Company in the United Kingdom.
Background information
The Burton's Biscuit Company started making chocolate chip cookies called Maryland cookies in 1956, and they are today ...
*Royal Edinburgh
*Wagon Wheels
Wagon Wheels are a sweet snack food sold in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, other Commonwealth countries like New Zealand and India, and Ireland. They consist of two biscuits that form a sandwich with a marshmallow filling with jam, an ...
See also
*Fox's Biscuits
Fox's Biscuits is a British biscuit manufacturer, founded by the Fox family in a terraced house, 17 Whitaker Street, Batley in West Yorkshire in 1853. The head office and main factory are based in the town and has another site in Wesham in Lanc ...
* Huntley & Palmers
*Jacob Fruitfield Food Group
The Jacob Fruitfield Food Group is a company that once produced food products in Ireland, but is now mainly a brand for imported foods targeted at the Irish market. It was formed by Fruitfield Foods' acquisition of the Republic of Ireland portion ...
and Jacob's
Jacob's is a brand name for several lines of biscuits and crackers in the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. The brand name is owned by the Jacob Fruitfield Food Group, part of Valeo Foods, which produces snacks for the Irish market. ...
*Tunnock's
Thomas Tunnock Limited, commonly known as Tunnock's, is a confectionery company based in Uddingston, Scotland. It is headed by Sir Boyd Tunnock, Boyd Tunnock, grandson of Thomas. In 2013, a joint report by Family Business United and Close Brothe ...
*United Biscuits
United Biscuits (UB) is a British multinational food manufacturer, makers of McVitie's biscuits, Jacob's Cream Crackers, and Twiglets. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. In Nove ...
References
External links
*
{{Ferrero
Ferrero SpA
Snack food manufacturers of the United Kingdom
Private equity portfolio companies
Companies based in the City and District of St Albans
2021 mergers and acquisitions
Biscuit brands
British subsidiaries of foreign companies