Northern Foods

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Northern Foods plc
Type Public (LSE: NFDS)
Founded 1937
Headquarters Leeds, West Yorkshire, England
Key people Alec Horsley, founder
Christopher Haskins
Stefan Barden, CEO
Industry Food
Revenue £888 million (2006)
Operating income £239 million (2006)
Net income £156 million (2006)
Employees 2,446 (2006)
Website Northern Foods

Northern Foods plc is a British food manufacturer headquartered in Leeds in the north of England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

Contents

[edit] History

Northern Foods grew out of the milk producer and retailer Northern Dairies, although it can trace its history back to 1880. Alec Horsley formally founded the business in 1937 as a family-run dairy business, in Holme on Spalding Moor. In 1942 the business was registered as Northern Dairies and became a public company in 1956.

Christopher Haskins met Horsley's daughter Gilda at Trinity College, Dublin, and after a series of failed careers decided to marry Gilda - on the condition from Horsley that Hoskins moved to Yorkshire. After working on a dairy farm in Ireland,[1] Haskins joined the company in 1962. Haskins met an executive of Marks and Spencer on a plane to Northern Ireland, and persuaded him to buy own-brand milk for a new store in Belfast. That first sale saw M&S become Northern's largest client, a contract which at its peak was worth £500million annually.[1] Haskins foresaw the huge demand for good-quality pre-prepared meals, and changed the companies name into Northern Foods to reflect the companies new focus, which would encompass brands including Ski yoghurt and Bowyers sausages.[2] Haskins became Deputy Chairman in 1974 and Chairman from 1980 to 2002.

[edit] Strategy

Haskins expanded the M&S relationship by developing a mini trifle, which showed the companies commitment to its customers. This was followed by North American-style pizza for Tesco; salmon in watercress sauce for Waitrose. The development of convenience foods and a unique business relationship with Marks and Spencer is the secret to Northern Foods success. Its strategy through until 2006 was to buy up and consolidate M&S suppliers, as well as innovating to impress. In 1986, Northern Foods built the most advanced food factory in Europe, Fenlands Food Factory, at a cost of eight million pounds, and dedicated it entirely to M&S.

However, overseas expansion failed, including the purchases of agribusinesses including Bluebird Inc, Keystone Foods Corporation, and a pig processor which turned out to be a ‘near-Mafia type of business'. As a result of stalled expansion, Northern Foods was forced to sell off Express Dairies in 1998.[1]

[edit] Present

Following a major sell off in 2006 of its traditional supply businesses,[3] Northern Foods focuses on branded frozen foods and ready meals. It owns the Goodfella's, Fox's, Elkes, Dalepak, and Matthew Walker brands and also produces own brand products for major retailers. The majority of its sales are made to the four big UK supermarket chains (Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons) and also to Marks & Spencer. Turnover for the 52 weeks to 2 April 2007 was £888 million.

[edit] Brands

[edit] Timeline

  • 1880 - Northern Foods had its beginnings in Pape and Co Ltd, a small condensed milk importing and wholesaling business in Hull
  • 1937 - Business started by Alec Horsley in Holme on Spalding Moor
  • 1942 - Business registered as Northern Dairies
  • 1956 - Northern Dairies becomes a public company
  • 1972 - Company changes name to Northern Foods plc, Acquired Park Cake Bakeries, Oldham and Smiths Flour Mills
  • 1977 - Acquired Fox's Biscuits
  • 1978 - Acquired Pork Farms
  • 1981 - Acquired Dorset Chilled Foods
  • 1983 - Opened Lenton Foods ready meals site
  • 1985 - Acquired Bowyers (Wiltshire) Ltd, Elkes Biscuits
  • 1986 - Acquired Batchelors
  • 1987 - Fenland Foods built in Grantham (Ready meals)
  • 1988 - Pennine Foods built in Sheffield, Acquired Evesham Foods
  • 1990 - Acquired Palethorpes
  • 1991 - Acquired Park Cake Bakeries, Bolton, Trafford Park Bakery, Kara Foods and Grain D’Or, Express Dairies, Eden Vale
  • 1992 - Acquired 24% shareholding in Fletchers Bakery, Acquired Matthew Walker
  • 1993 - Acquired Vanderheul in the Netherlands
  • 1995 - Acquired Green Isle Foods
  • 1998 - Acquired Cavaghan and Gray (Ready meals & Seafood). Demerger of Express Dairies, Acquired George Payne & Co, Closed Lenton Foods
  • 1999 - Acquired remaining stake in Fletchers Bakery, Acquired Pyewipe
  • 2000 - Acquired 40% stake in Solway Foods, Acquired R & K Wise
  • 2001 - Acquired Lacemont Ltd, Acquired Fox's Confectionery
  • 2002 - Sold Vanderheul, Sold Ski and Munch Bunch brands
  • 2003 - Acquired remaining 60% stake in Solway Foods. Following resignation of CEO Jo Stewart,[4] the company sold Fox's Confectionery, Batchelors and its Irish based businesses.[5]
  • 2004 - Sold: Emile Tissot, Eden Vale. Cavaghan & Gray Seafood to IFP Holdings.[6] Former Shell UK executive Pat O’Driscoll appointed as CEO (March), Company initiates major change programme
  • 2005 - Corporate HQ moves to Leeds. Closure of Evesham Foods, Closure of London Road site at Cavaghan & Gray, Carlisle, Tony Hobson appointed as Chairman following 3 years as Deputy Chairman (July), Jez Maiden appointed as Chief Finance Officer
  • 2006 - Stefan Barden is appointed as Executive Director, Chilled division (February). Northern Foods announces radical refocus of business and divestment programme, targeting disposal of its Chilled distribution, Flour milling, Cakes, Speciality bread and Chilled pastry businesses (May), Sold NFT Distribution (August), Closure of Green Isle Boyle site (September), Closed Trafford Park Bakery which exclusively supplied Tesco(November).[7] Announced exchange of contracts for proposed sale of its Flour milling, Cakes, Speciality bread and Chilled pastry businesses (November)
  • 2007 - Completion of the sale of Speciality bread, Chilled pastry, Cakes and Flour milling to Vision Capital Limited (January). Following the virtual sacking of O'Driscoll,[8] Barden is appointed Chief Executive (February). Acquisition of Ethnic Cuisine ready meals business of Swansea announced (November)[9]
  • 2008 - Acquisition of the Chilled Soup facilities of Baxters Food Group (January)

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Northern Foods. Corporate Watch. Retrieved on 2008-04-28.
  2. ^ Pastures new for milk man turned rural tsar. The Guardian (November 18 2001). Retrieved on 2008-04-28.
  3. ^ Northern Foods unveils sell-off. BBC News (31 May 2006). Retrieved on 2008-04-28.
  4. ^ Northern Foods boss quits. BBC News (4 September, 2003). Retrieved on 2008-04-28.
  5. ^ Northern Foods in Irish sell-off. BBC News (23 December, 2003). Retrieved on 2008-04-28.
  6. ^ End of era for historic food firm. BBC News (24 March, 2005). Retrieved on 2008-04-28.
  7. ^ Northern Foods to shed 900 jobs. BBC News (24 August 2006). Retrieved on 2008-04-28.
  8. ^ Northern Foods' chief executive exits. The Independent (2 February 2007). Retrieved on 2008-04-28.
  9. ^ Ready-made expansion for food firm. Western Mail (November 23 2007). Retrieved on 2008-04-28.

[edit] External links