HP Foods

HP Foods
Private
Industry Food
Founded 1875 in Aston, Birmingham[1]
Founder Edwin Samson Moore
Headquarters Hayes, London, UK
Area served
 Europe
Products HP Sauce, Daddies sauces, Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce
Owner The Kraft Heinz Company
Parent H. J. Heinz Company
Divisions HP Foods, Amoy Food UK, Lea & Perrins
Website www.hpfoods.com

HP Foods Limited, formerly based in Birmingham, England, was best known as the producer of HP, Lea & Perrins and Daddies sauce brands.[2] It was also the UK licensee, (from Heinz), of Chinese food and condiment brand, Amoy Food.[2][3]

Formerly the Midlands Vinegar Company[1] and Smedley HP Foods Limited, it was acquired by Imperial Foods, a division of Imperial Group. Edward Eastwood and his nephew Edwin Samson Moore established the Midland Vinegar Company at Aston, Birmingham in 1875.[2]

HP Foods Ltd was retained by Imperial's parent company Hanson plc even after the demerger of the Imperial Group. It was sold to Groupe Danone SA in 1988 for £199 million.[2] It was sold by Danone to Heinz in June 2005 for £470 million.[2] However, in October of that year the takeover was referred by the UK's Office of Fair Trading to the Competition Commission.[4] After a review the Competition Commission approved the takeover and Heinz started integrating this new company into the business.

In 2007, the iconic Aston, Birmingham factory was demolished, and production of HP and Daddies sauce brands was moved to the Netherlands.[1][5][6] Bottling of Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce was returned to Worcester, having been moved in 2005 to the Aston factory. During this time, the sauce continued to be manufactured but not bottled at the Midlands Road site.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 BBC News 9 May 2006 ‘Great British’ sauce heads abroad. Retrieved on 12 March 2008.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 BBC News Heinz buys HP sauce in £470m deal, 20 June 2005. Retrieved on 11 March 2008.
  3. ↑ Amoy Food UK website, About Amoy, retrieved on 11 March 2008.
  4. ↑ BBC NEWS | Business | Watchdogs probe HP sauce takeover
  5. ↑ BBC News Staff told of HP factory closure, 23 August 2006. Retrieved on 11 March 2008.
  6. ↑ BBC News Demolition of HP factory begins, 2 July 2007. Retrieved on 11 March 2008.
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