Lees Foods Limited, commonly known as Lees of Scotland, is a manufacturer of branded confectionery and meringues in

Coatbridge Coatbridge ( sco, Cotbrig or Coatbrig, gd, Drochaid a' Chòta) is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, about east of Glasgow city centre, set in the central Lowlands. Along with neighbouring town Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Airdrie, Coatbrid ...

North Lanarkshire North Lanarkshire ( sco, North Lanrikshire; gd, Siorrachd Lannraig a Tuath) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the northeast of the City of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs and commuter towns and villages. It als ...

, Scotland.

History

The company was founded in 1931 by John Justice Lees, the son of a grocer on Newland Street in Coatbridge. Lees had been attempting to create a smooth chocolate fondant bar in a workshop above the family shop in Newlands Street. Although unsuccessful, he attempted to coat the bar in coconut as an experiment, leading to the recipe for the Lees Macaroon bar. The original products manufactured by Lees are the Lees Macaroon bar and the Lees Snowball. The company subsequently added other products, later adding tablet,

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and coconut ice bars. In 1982, Lees set up Heather Cameron Foods, expanding the company to manufacture meringues. Lees bought out the company seven years later, becoming the outright owner. The company suffered losses during the 1980s, and was sold to Fine Foods in 1991. Two years later, it regained independent ownership.

Operations

Lees ran two factories based in Coatbridge, one making Heather Cameron meringues and the other snowballs, teacakes and confectionery bars. In August 1998, the company moved into a premises which catered for the entire company's product range. The factory employs around 200 people around Coatbridge, and reported a £26.4m turnover in 2017. It houses nine separate production lines, and uses

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technology to operate a just-in-time supply system. The company makes 80% of its sales in Scotland, as the rest of the United Kingdom is less familiar with tablet or macaroon. The company slogan is "Lees, Lees, more if you please".

References

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External links

Lees of Scotland
(official website) Scottish confectionery Scottish brands Food and drink companies established in 1931 1931 establishments in Scotland British companies established in 1931