Premier Foods plc is a British food manufacturer headquartered 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 ...
,
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...
. The group owns many well-known brands, including
Mr Kipling
Mr Kipling is a brand of cakes, pies and baked goods made in Carlton, South Yorkshire and Stoke-on-Trent, and marketed in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and North America. It was introduced in May 1967 (at a time when cakes were more of ...
,
Ambrosia,
Bird's Custard
Bird's Custard is the brand name for the original powdered, egg-free imitation custard powder, now owned by Premier Foods. Custard powder and instant custard powder are the generic product names for similar and competing products. The product ...
,
Angel Delight,
Homepride cooking sauces,
Lyons
Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of th ...
,
Sharwood's
Sharwood's is a British food company, which specialises in Asian food, established in 1889 and acquired by RHM in 1963, which was then merged into Premier Foods in March 2007.
Company products
The company produces Indian, Chinese and South Eas ...
,
Loyd Grossman
Loyd Daniel Gilman Grossman (born 16 September 1950) is an American-British author, broadcaster and cultural campaigner who has mainly worked in the United Kingdom. He is well known for presenting the BBC programme ''MasterChef'' from 1990 to 20 ...
sauces,
Oxo,
Bisto,
Batchelors
Batchelors is a popular brand of predominantly dried food products. The Bachelors company was founded in 1895 in Sheffield, England by William Batchelor, initially specialising in canned vegetables. It released its first dried soup in 1949, an ...
and Plantastic. Premier Foods also produce cakes under the
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 ...
's name, using the brand under licence. It is listed on the
London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...
and is a constituent of the
FTSE 250 Index.
History
Formation
The company was founded by
Harry Solomon
Harry S. Solomon is a character in '' 3rd Rock from the Sun'', played by French Stewart. He is the brother of Dick Solomon and Sally Solomon, and the uncle of Tommy Solomon. His middle initial is mentioned in the episode "Dick the Vote." French ...
and
David Thompson in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
in 1975 as Hillsdown Holdings.
The name came from Thompson's house, Hillsdown.
His son Richard Thompson worked for his father after his education at
Haileybury. In 1981 it acquired ''Lockwood Foods Ltd'' which was in administrative receivership.
In May 1987, David Thompson stepped down from Hillsdown Holdings, selling 50% of his shares and became a non executive director. In April 1989 he sold all of his shares.
In 1986, it bought various food businesses from
Beechams
The Beecham Group plc was a British pharmaceutical company. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. Beecham, after having merged with American pharmaceutical company SmithKline Beckman to become SmithKline Beecham, merged with Glaxo W ...
and in 1990 it acquired Premier Brands, the MBO led by
Paul Judge
Sir Paul Rupert Judge (25 April 1949 – 21 May 2017) was an English business and political figure. He served as Chairman of the Royal Society of Arts, President of the Chartered Management Institute, and Deputy Chairman of the American Managem ...
of
Cadbury Schweppes
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 Mars ...
' Foods and Other Products divisions which included
Typhoo
Typhoo (sometimes stylized as Ty•Phoo) is a brand of tea in the United Kingdom. It was launched in 1903 by John Sumner Jr. of Birmingham, England.
History
In 1863, William Sumner published ''A Popular Treatise on Tea'' as a by-product ...
and
Cadbury's drinks.
It was bought by the private equity company
Hicks, Muse, Tate and Furst in 1999. In 2002, it bought
Nestlé
Nestlé S.A. (; ; ) is a Switzerland, Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. It is the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other me ...
's ambient foods business. It was first listed on the
London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...
in 2004.
Expansion
In 2004, it acquired the
Ambrosia custard and rice pudding brand from the
Colman's
Colman's is an English manufacturer of mustard and other sauces, formerly based and produced for 160 years at Carrow, in Norwich, Norfolk. Owned by Unilever since 1995, Colman's is one of the oldest existing food brands, famous for a limited ran ...
division of
Unilever
Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy drink, t ...
.
In February 2005, Premier Foods acquired
Kraft Foods
The second incarnation of Kraft Foods is an American food manufacturing and processing conglomerate, split from Kraft Foods Inc. in 2012 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It became part of Kraft Heinz in 2015.
A merger with Heinz, arra ...
' ambient desserts businesses including
Bird's Custard
Bird's Custard is the brand name for the original powdered, egg-free imitation custard powder, now owned by Premier Foods. Custard powder and instant custard powder are the generic product names for similar and competing products. The product ...
and
Angel Delight.
In June 2005, Marlow Foods, makers of
Quorn
Quorn is a brand of meat substitute products, or the company that makes them. Quorn originated in the UK and is sold primarily in Europe, but is available in 14 countries. The brand is owned by parent company Monde Nissin.
Quorn is sold as b ...
, was purchased and this was followed in October by the acquisition of Cauldron, consolidating the two leading brands in the meat-free category. That month, Premier Foods announced the sale of
Typhoo
Typhoo (sometimes stylized as Ty•Phoo) is a brand of tea in the United Kingdom. It was launched in 1903 by John Sumner Jr. of Birmingham, England.
History
In 1863, William Sumner published ''A Popular Treatise on Tea'' as a by-product ...
tea to India's
Apeejay Surrendra Group
The Apeejay Surrendra Group is an Indian business conglomerate that was founded in 1910 in Jalandhar by Lala Pyare Lal. In 1951 the headquarters relocated to Kolkata. Surrendra Paul was chairman from 1982 until his murder in 1989. Most of the ...
for $140 million. Immediately after the sale, The Sirhowy Group confirmed it had acquired a 2% stake in Premier Foods, supporting the company's strategy to make debt reduction a priority.
In 2006, Premier Foods acquired the UK and Ireland businesses of
Campbell's
Campbell Soup Company, doing business as Campbell's, is an American processed food and snack company. The company is most closely associated with its flagship canned soup products; however, through mergers and acquisitions, it has grown to become ...
for £460 million. Brands included in the deal were
Oxo,
Batchelors
Batchelors is a popular brand of predominantly dried food products. The Bachelors company was founded in 1895 in Sheffield, England by William Batchelor, initially specialising in canned vegetables. It released its first dried soup in 1949, an ...
, Homepride and
Fray Bentos
Fray Bentos () is the capital city of the Río Negro Department, in south-western Uruguay, at the Argentina-Uruguay border, near the Argentine city of Gualeguaychú. Its port on the Uruguay River is one of the nation's most important harbours. ...
. The iconic Campbell's Soup cans had to be rebranded as Batchelors Condensed Soup (as the brand itself was not acquired) but labels still carried the label "''Formerly Campbell's. Same great taste''." Similarly, Campbell's Meatballs were rebranded as Fray Bentos Meatballs. Subsequently, in December 2007, the closure of the
King's Lynn
King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is located north of London, north-east of Peterborough, no ...
depot where Fray Bentos pies were made was announced.
In March 2007, Premier Foods completed the takeover of its rival
Rank Hovis McDougall
RHM plc, formerly Rank Hovis McDougall, was a United Kingdom food business. The company owned numerous brands, particularly for flour, where its core business started, and for consumer food products. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange an ...
(RHM) for £1.2 billion.
In July 2007, Premier Foods announced it would close several RHM sites: Bristol, Droylsden (makers of
Robertson's
Robertson's is a British brand of marmalades and fruit preserves that was founded by James Robertson in 1864. The firm was run as a partnership until 1903, when it was incorporated as a limited company - James Robertson & Sons, Preserve Manufactu ...
Golden Shred since 1890 and
Sharwood's
Sharwood's is a British food company, which specialises in Asian food, established in 1889 and acquired by RHM in 1963, which was then merged into Premier Foods in March 2007.
Company products
The company produces Indian, Chinese and South Eas ...
brands), Middlewich (makers of
Bisto and Salts), Wythenshawe (makers of
Sharwood's
Sharwood's is a British food company, which specialises in Asian food, established in 1889 and acquired by RHM in 1963, which was then merged into Premier Foods in March 2007.
Company products
The company produces Indian, Chinese and South Eas ...
pappadom
A papad is an Indian deep fried dough of black gram bean flour, either fried or cooked with dry heat (flipped over an open flame) until crunchy. Other flours made from lentils, chickpeas, rice, tapioca, millet or potato are also used. ''Papad ...
s and
Paxo
Paxo is a brand of stuffing in the United Kingdom, currently owned by Premier Foods.
Paxo was devised in 1901 by John Crampton, a butcher from Eccles near Manchester, who wanted to have something extra to sell to his customers shopping for their ...
), Ledbury (makers of specialist jams) and Reading (Foodservices).
In 2008 the company re-launched the
Hovis
Hovis Ltd is a British company that produces flour and bread. The brand originated in Stoke-on-Trent and was first mass-produced in Macclesfield, Cheshire, in 1886. It became part of Rank Hovis McDougall (RHM) in 1962 after a succession of merge ...
brand by commissioning ''
Go On Lad
"Go On Lad" is a British television and cinema advertisement launched by Premier Foods in 2008 to promote its Hovis brand of bread. The 122-second piece was commissioned as part of a £15,000,000 brand relaunch designed to reverse Hovis' declinin ...
'', a retrospective advertisement which was voted "Advert of the Decade" by the British public in December 2009.
In 2009, Premier Foods sold its frozen bakery business, including Le Pain Croustillant and Sofrapain, to Nutrixo.
Restructuring
In February 2011, Premier Foods sold its
Crosse & Blackwell
Crosse & Blackwell is a British food brand. The original company was established in London in 1706, then was acquired by Edmund Crosse and Thomas Blackwell in 1830. It became independent until it was acquired by Swiss conglomerate Nestlé in 1960. ...
,
Fray Bentos
Fray Bentos () is the capital city of the Río Negro Department, in south-western Uruguay, at the Argentina-Uruguay border, near the Argentine city of Gualeguaychú. Its port on the Uruguay River is one of the nation's most important harbours. ...
and Smedley's businesses to
Princes
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
for £182 million. It followed this in March with the sale of Marlow Foods to Exponent Private Equity and
Intermediate Capital Group
Intermediate Capital Group is a private equity investment firm focused on providing capital to help companies grow through private and public markets and provides a number of strategies and funds aimed at institutional investors. It is headquarte ...
for £205 million ($331.6 million), resulting in the creation of a new company,
Quorn Foods. Premier Foods said the deal was part of a strategy to reduce its debt, which built up following an acquisition spree that included Hovis-owner RHM and Campbell's Soup in the UK and Ireland.
2 Sisters Food Group bought Premier Foods' Brookes Avana business in December 2011.
In 2012, the company announced it had agreed a re-financing package, which required the disposal of additional assets. Premier Foods reached agreements with
Mizkan
is a Japanese company that produces vinegars (including seasoned rice vinegars, balsamic vinegars, and wine vinegars), mustards, salad dressings, authentic East Asian sauces, nattō, and other food products. It is based in Handa, Aichi ...
to sell its Haywards pickle,
Sarson's
Sarson's is a brand of malt vinegar brewed in the United Kingdom. It is sold in pear shaped bottles with a flip top and the brand is currently owned by Mizkan. Sarson's also produces vinegar for Sainsbury's, 3663, Chef, Independent and Mizkan.
...
and Dufrais vinegar in June, followed by
Branston in October that year. In August, the company sold its sweet spreads and jellies division, including
Hartley's
Hartley's is a brand of marmalades, jams and jellies, originally from the United Kingdom, which is manufactured at Histon, Cambridgeshire. The brand was formerly owned by Premier Foods, until it was sold along with the factory in Histon to Hai ...
jam,
Sun-Pat peanut butter and
Robertson's
Robertson's is a British brand of marmalades and fruit preserves that was founded by James Robertson in 1864. The firm was run as a partnership until 1903, when it was incorporated as a limited company - James Robertson & Sons, Preserve Manufactu ...
, to
Hain Celestial Group
The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. is an American food company whose main focus is natural foods and botanically-based personal care products. Its products range from herbal teas, sold by its Celestial Seasonings brand to snacks offered through its Te ...
.
In January 2014, Premier Foods announced a new capital structure for the business which included an underwritten equity issue of approximately £353 million, a new pension schemes agreement, a high yield bond of £500 million and a new lending agreement with a smaller banking group. Premier also became a 'grocery-only' business with the movement of the
Hovis
Hovis Ltd is a British company that produces flour and bread. The brand originated in Stoke-on-Trent and was first mass-produced in Macclesfield, Cheshire, in 1886. It became part of Rank Hovis McDougall (RHM) in 1962 after a succession of merge ...
brand into a
joint venture
A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...
with US-based venture capital fund
The Gores Group
The Gores Group is a private equity firm specializing in acquiring and partnering with mature and growing businesses. The company was founded in 1987 by its CEO and chairman, Alec E. Gores.
Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, with an offic ...
. Premier Foods sold a controlling 51% stake in the joint venture to The Gores Group, which saw Hovis become a private company.
The Hovis spin-off was followed in June 2014 by the announcement that the company would spin-off its powdered food and drinks manufacturing operations in
Knighton into a joint venture called Knighton Foods. Premier Foods sold a controlling 51% stake in the venture to Specialty Powders Holdings.
In December 2014 it was reported that the company was charging suppliers for the right to sell goods and services to Premier Foods. One supplier said the practice – known as pay and stay – was like "blackmail". Premier Foods said it was confident the scheme did not break any rules under competition law.
In November 2015 the group announced a new partnership with celebrity baker
Paul Hollywood
Paul John Hollywood (born 1 March 1966) is an English celebrity chef and television presenter, widely known as a judge on ''The Great British Bake Off'' since 2010.
Hollywood began his career at his father's bakery as a teenager and went on to ...
to produce a range of bread, savoury and sweet mixes, designed to make artisanal baking accessible to consumers.
The company announced a partnership with the
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
ese company
Nissin Foods
Nissin Food Products Co., Ltd. is a Japanese food company that specializes in the production and sale of convenience food and instant noodles.
History Founding and early years
The company was established in Japan on September 1, 1948, by ...
in March 2016, whereby the companies would distribute each other's products in their home markets. Premier Foods also revealed it had rejected an unsolicited takeover approach from
McCormick & Company
McCormick & Company, Incorporated is an American food company that manufactures, markets, and distributes spices, seasoning mixes, condiments, and other flavoring products to retail outlets, food manufacturers, and foodservice businesses.
Thei ...
. Nissin subsequently purchased a 17.3% stake in the company. McCormick dropped its takeover bid in April 2016.
Brands
*
Ambrosia custards and rice pudding
*
Angel Delight desserts
*
Atora shredded suet
*
Batchelors
Batchelors is a popular brand of predominantly dried food products. The Bachelors company was founded in 1895 in Sheffield, England by William Batchelor, initially specialising in canned vegetables. It released its first dried soup in 1949, an ...
dehydrated foods,
Super Noodles and dried soup
Cup-a-Soup
*
Be-Ro
Be-Ro is a food manufacturing business, formerly based in Newcastle upon Tyne.
History
The Company was founded by Thomas Bell as a grocery and tea company in Longhorsley north of Newcastle in 1875. Bell had experimented with rising agents on ...
flour
*
Bird's
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, warm-blooded, egg-laying animals.
Birds may also refer to:
Literature
* ''The Birds'' (play), an ancient Greek play by Aristophanes
* ''The Birds'' (novel), a novel by Tarjei Vesaas
* "The Birds" (story), ...
custard and desserts
*
Bisto gravy
*
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 ...
cakes and cake mixes (manufactured under licence from
Mondelez 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 ...
)
*
Homepride cooking sauces and ready meals businesses only
*
Loyd Grossman sauces
Loyd Grossman Food is a brand of cooking sauces established in 1995 manufactured by Premier Foods in association with TV personality and food critic Loyd Grossman. Premier Foods, which also manufactures Sharwood's, was the leading UK cooking sau ...
cooking sauces
*
Lyons
Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of th ...
cakes and baked goods
*
Marvel
Marvel may refer to:
Business
* Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company
** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment
** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe
** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics
* ...
milk powder
*
McDougalls flour
*
Mr Kipling
Mr Kipling is a brand of cakes, pies and baked goods made in Carlton, South Yorkshire and Stoke-on-Trent, and marketed in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and North America. It was introduced in May 1967 (at a time when cakes were more of ...
cakes and cake mixes
*
Nissin noodle pots and blocks (distributed under licence from Nissin Food Holdings Co Ltd)
*
Oxo stocks and seasonings
*
Paxo
Paxo is a brand of stuffing in the United Kingdom, currently owned by Premier Foods.
Paxo was devised in 1901 by John Crampton, a butcher from Eccles near Manchester, who wanted to have something extra to sell to his customers shopping for their ...
stuffing
* Peckish rice crackers (under licence)
* Plantastic health foods
*
Saxa salt and pepper
*
Sharwood's
Sharwood's is a British food company, which specialises in Asian food, established in 1889 and acquired by RHM in 1963, which was then merged into Premier Foods in March 2007.
Company products
The company produces Indian, Chinese and South Eas ...
Asian cooking sauces
*
Smash instant mash potato
* The Spice Tailor by
Anjum Anand
Anjum Anand (born 15 August 1971) is a British food writer and TV chef of Indian cuisine.
Biography
Anjum Anand grew up in London but has also lived and studied in Geneva, Paris, and Madrid. She speaks French and Spanish, holds a degree in Bus ...
* Vesta dried ready meals
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Bakeries of the United Kingdom
British pie brands
British Royal Warrant holders
Companies based in the City and District of St Albans
Food and drink companies established in 1975
Companies listed on the London Stock Exchange
Food brands of the United Kingdom
Food manufacturers of the United Kingdom
Premier Foods brands
Private equity portfolio companies
Condiment companies
1999 mergers and acquisitions
2004 initial public offerings
1975 establishments in England