The V H Group is an Indian conglomerate primarily comprising companies related to the poultry industry, including processed food, animal vaccines, human and animal pharmaceutical and healthcare products. They are also the owners of

Blackburn Rovers F.C. Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewo ...

It was founded as Venkateshwara Hatcheries Pvt Ltd in 1971 in

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and later shifted its base to

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

to seek favourable climatic conditions required for research of livestock. It has also built Balaji temple at Pune which is a replica of famous Balaji temple of Tirupati. It is also the owner of English football club

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

, overseeing two relegations and one promotion with the club.

Group profile

The V H Group is controlled by the family of Dr. B. V. Rao. His daughter, Anuradha Desai, is serving as group chairperson since his death in 1996. His sons B Balaji Rao and Venkatesh Rao sit on the board of the group's companies. The V H Group has its headquarters in Pune, and has offices in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. The group has production plants in

, the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. In December 2010, the group launched Venky's Xprs, a fast food restaurant specialising in chicken. The first outlet opened in Pune, India.

Sport

Blackburn Rovers

In November 2010, the group took over English

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club

, acquiring a 99.9% stake through a new holding company, Venky's London Ltd. The deal was worth £43 million including taking on around £20 million of the club's debt. After sacking

Sam Allardyce Samuel Allardyce (born 19 October 1954) is an English football manager and former professional player. Allardyce made 578 league and cup appearances in a 21-year career spent mostly in the Football League, as well as brief spells in the North ...

as the club's manager,

Steve Kean Stephen Kean (born 30 September 1967) is a Scottish football coach and former player who was most recently the manager of Georgian club Torpedo Kutaisi. Kean played as a winger for clubs in the lower divisions of Scottish, English and Portugu ...

was appointed in his place, raising media concern as Kean's agent Jerome Anderson had advised Venky's during its takeover of the club.Conn, David
"How an agent came to hold so much power at Blackburn Rovers"
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 21 December 2010. Retrieved 02 August 2016.Hytner, David
"Steve Kean finds value of friends in high places at Blackburn Rovers"
''

'', 16 December 2010. Retrieved 02 August 2016. Venky's oversaw an unsuccessful period resulting in relegation to the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

after the

2011–12 Premier League The 2011–12 Premier League (known as the Barclays Premier League for sponsorship reasons) was the 20th season of the Premier League since its establishment in 1992. The season began on 13 August 2011 and ended on 13 May 2012 with Manchester C ...

season ending the club's 11-year run in the top flight, then a further relegation to the third-tier

EFL League One The English Football League One, known as Sky Bet League One for sponsorship reasons, or simply League One, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League One is the second-highest division of the English Football League an ...

after the 2016–17 season. Despite Kean leaving Blackburn Rovers in September 2012, criticism of Venky's running of the club has continued, with both fans and the media calling them into question. In September 2016, Venky's publicly stated their commitment to the club.

Businesses

The group includes: * Venkateshwara Hatcheries Pvt. Ltd. * Venky's (India) Limited * * VENCO Research and Breeding Farms Pvt. Ltd. * Venkateshwara Research and Breeding Farms Pvt. Ltd. * Venkateshwara B.V.Bio-Corp Pvt. Ltd. * * Uttara Foods & Feeds Pvt. Ltd. * Uttara Impex Pvt. Ltd. * Venky's Vietnam Ltd. * Venky's Singapore Pvt. Ltd. * VH Group Bangladesh * Bala Industries & Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.

References

{{Use dmy dates, date=July 2017 Agriculture companies of India Food and drink companies of India Companies based in Pune Conglomerate companies established in 1971 Indian companies established in 1971 Poultry industry in India Privately held companies of India Food and drink companies established in 1971 1971 establishments in Maharashtra