Heron Foods Ltd. (formerly Heron Frozen Foods Ltd and Grindells Butchers Ltd) is an English retail chain founded in 1979 and based in Melton with 293 stores as of 1 July 2020. It primarily sells frozen food, but has a wide range of ambient and chilled stock with named brands including Muller,

Birds Eye Birds Eye is an American international brand of frozen foods owned by Conagra Brands in the United States, by Nomad Foods in Europe, and Simplot in Australia. The former Birds Eye Company Ltd., originally named "Birdseye Seafood, Inc." had b ...

and

McCain Foods McCain may refer to: * McCain (surname), a surname (includes a list of persons and characters) Companies * McCain Foods Limited, a producer of frozen foods * McCain, Inc., privately held American manufacturing company headquartered in Vista ...

, as well as several lines using the Heron Foods brand. B&M announced in August 2017 that it had purchased Heron Foods for £152 million, a deal that was described as a "no brainer" by B&M's CEO Simon Arora.

History

Heron Foods, Lincoln Green Road, Leeds (geograph 5962052)

The company was first registered in October 1978 as Grindells Butchers.Companies House Information on Company 01392197 The first store was opened by the Grindell family on Holderness Road, Hull in 1979. In 1981 the company changed name to Heron Frozen Foods. Shortly after Anthony Grindell sold the business to his sister and her family – the Heucks. In 1999 Heron Foods bought 17 Dawn Til Dusk convenience stores after that chain went into

receivership In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver—a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights"—especially in ca ...

, bringing its total number of stores to over 100. Malcolm and Sheila Heuck had a joint controlling interest in the company from the beginning, but in February 2003, having reached retirement age, they sold their stake to management; from that point, the company was run by their sons Andrew, David and Michael. In September 2012 Heron Foods agreed to buy the Cooltrader frozen foods business from

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...

. The deal included 54 of the 58 shops and the depot and head office of Cooltrader. The acquired Cooltrader outlets were converted to the Heron Foods brand.Retail Week 3 September 2012 Monday Iceland appoints Paul Foley as international business director In August 2017, it was announced that Heron Foods had been sold to B&M for £152 million. A number of new branches have been opened under the new B&M Express facia.

Operations

The company's head office is at Melton in the

East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire to ...

and it has around 250 outlets which are mostly located throughout the

North of England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...

and the Midlands. Heron Foods has developed its business in selling frozen and convenience store goods at a discount, the majority of which are household brands. Heron occupies nine former

Woolworth's Woolworth, Woolworth's, or Woolworths may refer to: Businesses * F. W. Woolworth Company, the original US-based chain of "five and dime" (5¢ and 10¢) stores * Woolworths Group (United Kingdom), former operator of the Woolworths chain of shop ...

locations.The Daily Telegraph (London) 19 January 2012 Thursday Edition 2; National Edition Pound legacy of Woolworths sites BYLINE: Harry Wallop SECTION: BUSINESS; p. 3

References

External links

Official website
{{UK supermarkets Retail companies of the United Kingdom Companies based in the East Riding of Yorkshire Retail companies established in 1979 Supermarkets of the United Kingdom 1979 establishments in England Companies established in 1979