Food & Drink 1999 - Company News Summary

S&A Foods is creating 100 more jobs at its ready-made meals factory in Derby, and is also considering plans to build an additional factory nearby.
20-Dec-1999

United Biscuits has recommended a £1.25bn takeover offer from a consortium backed by Danone of France, but a rival bid could come from a Nabisco-backed consortium.
18-Dec-1999

Redcar Council has announced that work has started on the development of the £1.2m South Tees Imperial Food Park, which aims to house a cluster of food manufacturers and create 400 jobs.
16-Dec-1999

Gordon Jopling, the Barnsley-based food products group, is to invest £2m in new production facilities, new offices and a development laboratory, with the creation of 40 jobs.
14-Dec-1999

Edinburgh Smoked Salmon Company of Dingwall is to spend £2.5m on a new cold store and production facility, with the creation of 60 jobs.
10-Dec-1999

Golden Vale has sold its Leckpatrick Dairies agri-trading business in Northern Ireland to Holden Agriculture.
10-Dec-1999

Perkins Frozen Foods is to invest £2.5m in its poultry products business with the creation of 200 jobs, and is due to open a new factory in Cleator Moor over the next few weeks.
09-Dec-1999

Lyndale Foods has sold the Bolton-based van sales operation of its Hunts Bakery Foods division to South Wales-based Peter's Food Service for undisclosed terms.
09-Dec-1999

Richmond Foods is investing £2m at its ice cream factory in Leeds, with the creation of 50 jobs.
09-Dec-1999

Primetime Pet Foods has acquired Pascoe's for undisclosed terms, in order to expand its pet food distribution business.
02-Dec-1999

HP Bulmer has bought American Hard Cider Company for £19m, in order to provide a platform for growth in the US.
01-Dec-1999

Unilever has acquired Amora Maille, the French manufacturer of mustard and culinary products, for £460m.
25-Nov-1999

Test Valley Water has acquired the water business of the Robinson Group, which includes the Eden Valley Mineral Water Company in Cumbria, for about £15m.
24-Nov-1999

Premier Nutrition Products has acquired Vitamealo, the Avonmouth-based animal feed supplement company, from Dalgety for undisclosed terms.
20-Nov-1999

Eurostock Meat Marketing is investing £1.3m in a new production area at its factory in Newry having won a contract to supply meat products to the US, and 23 jobs will be created.
18-Nov-1999

East Midlands Development Agency is supporting plans from OCG Cacao of France to open a £8.5m chocolate factory in Worksop next year, with the creation of 50 jobs.
17-Nov-1999

Memory Lane Cakes is to create about 200 jobs at its Cardiff cakes factory, but its Warrington factory will be closed in February with the loss of up to 500 jobs.
11-Nov-1999

Associated British Foods has bought six animal feed mills from Dalgety for about £10m.
04-Nov-1999

Sun Valley Foods is creating a further 80 jobs at its prepared meals factory in Wolverhampton.
02-Nov-1999

Associated British Foods is acquiring Rohm Enzyme, the food enzymes company, from Degussa-Huls of Germany for undisclosed terms.
02-Nov-1999

Ethnic Cuisine is to create 300 jobs at its prepared meals factory in Swansea, which will double the workforce to 600 by the end of next year.
29-Oct-1999

The Welsh Development Agency is building a £2.2m cheese storage and packing facility at Felinfach near Lampeter for Aeron Valley Cheese, and 75 jobs will be created.
23-Oct-1999

United Biscuits is selling its frozen and chilled foods business to Heinz of the US for £190m, and the proceeds will be invested in its snacks operation.
23-Oct-1999

Hays has sold three food ingredients businesses to a new company called Braes Group for £22m, and Braes is planning to build up a £200m food group with the backing of 3i.
21-Oct-1999

Linden Foods is investing £5.7m to improve facilities at its Northern Ireland meat processing plants in Newtownards and Dungannon, with the creation of up to 70 jobs.
20-Oct-1999

Hays has won food distribution contracts worth a total of £50m from Kentucky Fried Chicken, Haagen Daz Cafes, and Yates Wine Lodges, which will lead to the creation of 400 jobs.
18-Oct-1999

Stateside Foods has acquired Tolona Pizza Products of Skelmersdale for £10m.
16-Oct-1999

Tamarind Touch is to set up a new facility near Mansfield to prepare Indian foods for sale in pubs and restaurants, with the creation of 22 jobs.
14-Oct-1999

Branston Potatoes has acquired GA Bowskill, creating the largest potato packing business in the country.
09-Oct-1999

Sun Valley Foods has acquired Fields International, the import and distribution company, in order to strengthen its supply chain.
02-Oct-1999

East Staffordshire Borough Council is to consider plans from MJ Barrett Developments to build a factory to process dry food ingredients at Dovefields, which would create 40 jobs.
02-Oct-1999

Kerry Group is acquiring two food ingredients businesses from Andre of Switzerland for £50m - Shade Foods in the US and Speciality Food Ingredients in Europe.
01-Oct-1999

Geest is acquiring Cinquieme Saison, the French salads supplier, for up to £16m.
23-Sep-1999

Prepco Foods, the vegetables supplier, has acquired Selfresh Salads, and Selfresh will be relocated to a purpose built factory next to Prepco in Skelmersdale.
23-Sep-1999

Foyle Meats' Hilton Food joint venture with RWM Food has acquired the processing and packaging business of Dutch retailer Albert Heijn, and plans to invest £7m in the Amsterdam butchery.
23-Sep-1999

E Park & Sons is planning a £1.7m expansion at its Epworth potato packing plant in North Lincolnshire, with the creation of 20 jobs.
21-Sep-1999

The government has indicated that the proposed Scottish Food Standards Agency will be based in either Aberdeen or Dundee, with the creation of up to 45 jobs.
17-Sep-1999

Bensons Crisps is acquiring the healthy snacks business of London-based K Foods for up to £1.8m.
17-Sep-1999

Sauce Company is planning a £10m expansion at its soups and sauces factory in Scunthorpe, with the creation of 100 new jobs.
16-Sep-1999

Bernard Matthews is looking to recruit 100 new workers for its poultry processing plants in Halesworth and Great Witchingham.
16-Sep-1999

Dalehead Foods is to merge with Roach Foods in a £150m deal that will create a combined meat processing business called Flagship Foods.
13-Sep-1999

Highland Distillers is set to go private in a £700m acquisition by two private Scottish companies - Edrington and William Grant.
11-Sep-1999

Macaw is planning to build a new soft drinks factory at Nelson in Lancashire, with the creation of 100 jobs.
10-Sep-1999

United Biscuits is acquiring Stollwercke, the Hungarian biscuit company, for £18m.
10-Sep-1999

Hibernia Foods is seeking an additional 40 workers for its frozen meals factory in Hartlepool.
09-Sep-1999

Cranswick is to acquire Pethick & Co, the Hull-based ham manufacturer, for about £15m.
07-Sep-1999

Cadbury Schweppes has agreed the sale of its South African soft drinks business to Coca-Cola for £153m.
03-Sep-1999

Cadbury Schweppes is linking up with Carlyle Group to acquire Dr Pepper Bottling Company of Texas for £432m, in order to create the largest independent bottler in the US.
02-Sep-1999

Sun Valley Foods is creating 200 additional jobs at its poultry plants in Hereford and Wales, due to a rise in demand.
27-Aug-1999

Albert Fisher has sold three seafood businesses based in Belgium and Denmark to the Dutch venture capital group Gilde Buy-Out Fund for £21m, in an ongoing effort to reduce debt.
21-Aug-1999

Coca-Cola Beverages is to merge with Hellenic Bottling Company of Greece in a £2bn deal that will create the second largest Coke bottler in the world.
19-Aug-1999

Express Dairies is seeking permission to introduce in-house bottling at its Sheffield Park dairy in Uckfield in partnership with Tetrapak, and the £11m project would create 50 jobs.
16-Aug-1999

Unilever is selling Van Den Bergh Continental Bakeries, the Australian frozen pastries business, to Diageo's Pillsbury division for undisclosed terms.
11-Aug-1999

Tomkins has acquired Hayden's, the Wiltshire-based patisserie maker, for undisclosed terms.
11-Aug-1999

Unigate has acquired Broadlands Dairy, the small Hampshire-based dairy, for undisclosed terms.
05-Aug-1999

Genus is acquiring ABS Global, the US cattle breeding company, from Protein Genetics for undisclosed terms.
04-Aug-1999

Swankies, the Arbroath-based seafood company, is undergoing a £1.8m management buy-in, which is expected to lead to an expansion of its factory and the creation of new jobs.
02-Aug-1999

Cadbury Schweppes has completed the sale of its soft drinks operations in 155 countries to Coca-Cola for £443m, and other countries are expected to follow once regulatory approval is given.
31-Jul-1999

Joseph Dunn Group has sold its wholesale soft drinks division to a management team, and the new business will aim to become a leading player in the market for drinks in small plastic bottles.
29-Jul-1999

IAWS is to acquire Delice de France, the London-based supplier of French pastries to UK catering companies, for up to £35m.
27-Jul-1999

Golden Vale is to invest £14m in a Rye Valley Foods plant in Enniskillen with the creation of 130 jobs, in order to manufacture a new range of frozen prepared foods.
19-Jul-1999

Booker has sold its Marine Harvest McConnell salmon farming business to Nutreco of the Netherlands for £33m, and is now looking to sell its Booker Tate and Fletcher Smith sugar-related subsidiaries.
16-Jul-1999

Berkshire Foods is to relocate its snacks factory from Hook to Gosport with the creation of 20 jobs.
13-Jul-1999

Kepac is seeking 200 additional workers following a £10m investment in a new meat packaging plant near Preston.
06-Jul-1999

Hibernia Foods has won approval to expand its frozen ready meals factory in Hartlepool at a cost of £2.4m, and expects to create 126 jobs.
02-Jul-1999

Booker has sold its Arbor Acres chicken breeding business in the US to BC Partners for £68m, and is now looking to sell its salmon farming business.
24-Jun-1999

Greene King has announced a £145m takeover offer for rival brewer Morland, which will create a combined group with 1,668 pubs.
23-Jun-1999

Thistle Confectionery is to set up a confectionery factory at New Leeds in Aberdeenshire, creating an initial 15 jobs.
22-Jun-1999

Eldridge Pope has sold its Fine Wines division to Dawes Group and its Howells of Bristol wines business to Lay & Wheeler, and the £3.2m proceeds will be invested in its pub operations.
22-Jun-1999

Fyffes and Allegro are to merge their grocery distribution operations to create a combined group called Allegro with annual sales of £77m.
22-Jun-1999

J Wild is relocating its bakery business to new premises in Steeton near Keighley with the creation of 50 jobs, in order to expand production of its biscuit gift ranges.
18-Jun-1999

Rubicon Beverages is to build a factory to make cartons of fruit juice at Tredegar in South Wales.
16-Jun-1999

Sims Food is to be acquired by Global Group for £22m, which will create one of the leading frozen food suppliers to the catering industry.
16-Jun-1999

RF Brookes is setting up a £40m chilled ready meals factory at Risca near Newport, with the creation of up to 450 jobs.
15-Jun-1999

Ushers of Trowbridge is to merge with the Alehouse Company, and Alehouse's office in Southampton will be closed in order to run the combined company from the Ushers brewery in Trowbridge.
15-Jun-1999

Diageo is to sell its 88% stake in Spanish brewer Cruzcampo to Heineken for £426m.
11-Jun-1999

Exel Logistics is to relocate its chilled food distribution depot in Stoke-on-Trent to the nearby NFC warehouse, which will involve the transfer of 250 staff and the creation of a further 100 jobs.
10-Jun-1999

Hillsdown is to be acquired by Hicks Muse Tate & Furst of the US in a £822m deal as Candover has withdrawn from the bidding, and Hicks Muse is expected to sell the poultry division.
04-Jun-1999

Express Dairies is to acquire Glanbia's UK milk operations for £100m, which will give it an extra five plants and 2,000 employees.
02-Jun-1999

Unigate is acquiring Generale Traiteur and Marie Surgeles France, two convenience food companies, from Danone of France for £144m.
01-Jun-1999

Bure Valley Foods, the cooked meats products company, has sold an undisclosed stake in the company to Dutch food group Royal Wessanen, and has also announced that 100 jobs will be created at a new plant in North Walsham later this year.
28-May-1999

Hilton Meat Products is to invest £1.5m in the expansion of its factory in Carrickfergus, with the creation of 20 jobs.
26-May-1999

Perkins Foods is to acquire two French chilled food companies - Fraisnor and Traditions d'Asie - for £13m, in order to expand its European distribution network.
26-May-1999

Booker has sold its food service division to Bidvest of South Africa for £125m, in order to focus on its cash and carry business.
14-May-1999

Hillsdown is acquiring Boin, the French jam manufacturer, for undisclosed terms.
11-May-1999

Bensons Crisps is acquiring Country Harvest, the fruit and nut snacks company, for £6.7m.
01-May-1999

Terranova, the manufacturer of chilled convenience foods, has recommended a revised £274m takeover bid from Unigate.
30-Apr-1999

Northern Foods is acquiring Fletcher Bakeries, the Sheffield-based bakery, for £41m.
24-Apr-1999

JN Nichols has acquired Balmoral Trading, the supplier of hot beverage systems, for an estimated £7m.
17-Apr-1999

Norish is acquiring Belvedere Warehousing Group, the coffee and cocoa warehousing company, for £7m.
16-Apr-1999

Stevenson & Company is planning to spend £1.8m on the expansion of its Cullybackey pork products factory in Northern Ireland, with the creation of 30 jobs.
13-Apr-1999

Robert Wiseman has acquired an 80% stake in Gilmour's Dairy of Kilmarnock for £3.5m.
10-Apr-1999

Princes Foods is to acquire Mauritius Tuna Fishing & Canning Enterprises and plans to set up a new canning plant on the island.
10-Apr-1999

Rachel's Organic Dairy, the producer of organic dairy products, has been acquired by Horizon of the US for undisclosed terms.
10-Apr-1999

Dairy Crest has acquired Millway Foods, the speciality cheese company, for £2.5m.
03-Apr-1999

Albert Fisher has sold two if its River Ranch prepared vegetable operations in the US to Taylor Fresh Foods for about £3m, and the sale of an additional nine businesses should be agreed in the next few weeks.
01-Apr-1999

Tomkins is to sell four Spillers flour mills to Archer-Daniels-Midland of the US for undisclosed terms, in order to comply with a ruling by the Monopolies & Mergers Commission.
01-Apr-1999

Princes Foods is acquiring Oxbridge Foods, the Chertsey-based canned foods company with turnover of about £70m.
27-Mar-1999

S Daniels has acquired All Square Foods and Bilash Foods for a total £4.4m.
26-Mar-1999

Robert Wiseman Dairies has won acceptance for its £1m bid for Aberdeen Milk, the dairy farmers co-operative.
25-Mar-1999

NFF has acquired Evans Group and Hafren Wholesale, the speciality bread makers, for £2.1m.
24-Mar-1999

La Glacerie is planning to build a new factory to make ice-cream cakes for caterers in Ashford, Kent, with the creation of 35 jobs.
22-Mar-1999

Muller Dairy has announced plans to double the size of its dairy factory in Market Drayton with the creation of 250 jobs, and has only just completed work on a £24m extension.
19-Mar-1999

Ginsters is to invest £10m in the expansion of its Lynher Bakery at Callington, with the creation of 80 jobs.
17-Mar-1999

Albert Fisher has sold Fisher Quality Foods Uyttewaal, its Dutch pickles business, to Carl Kuhne for £4.4m.
13-Mar-1999

Mission Foods of the US is to set up a Mexican foods factory in Coventry, creating 300 jobs.
12-Mar-1999

John Mowlem has acquired Analytical Service Centre, the food testing business, for £1.2m.
11-Mar-1999

WD Meats is investing £2.3m in a new production facility for retail meat products in Coleraine, and expects to create 20 jobs.
09-Mar-1999

Hillsdown has sold Holco, its Dutch canning business, to a management team, and proceeds will be used to reduce debt.
09-Mar-1999

Express Dairies has acquired Star Dairies for £2.7m, in order to expand its business in the London area.
06-Mar-1999

Key Country Foods is to create 30 jobs at its bacon-processing plant in Scunthorpe due to rising demand, and £0.5m will invested in a new curing plant.
01-Mar-1999

Granada Food Services has acquired Summit Catering, the contract catering company, for £6.5m.
22-Feb-1999

Smales Group is opening a new fish processing factory adjacent to its head office in Hull, with the creation of 30 jobs.
18-Feb-1999

Golden Vale is planning an £8m investment to modernise cheese processing facilities at its Dairy Produce Packers plant in Coleraine, creating more than 70 jobs.
17-Feb-1999

Macfish is to create an extra 60 jobs at its fish processing factory in Fraserburgh, having won a major new contract from an unnamed supermarket chain.
12-Feb-1999

Kilron Seafoods has opened a new fish smoking plant at its Fraserburgh site, and is seeking 20 additional workers.
12-Feb-1999

Golden Vale has acquired Dairyborn Foods, the manufacturer of cheese-based products, for an initial £8.5m.
12-Feb-1999

Hillsdown is selling its Continental Bakeries biscuit manufacturing business to a new company created by the venture capitalist Industri Kapital for £42m.
09-Feb-1999

Unilever is said to be planning to set up a new research laboratory at its Port Sunlight site, with the creation of up to 100 new jobs.
08-Feb-1999

Sidoli's is planning to double the size of its ice cream and confectionery factory in Welshpool, which already employs 150 people.
05-Feb-1999

Coca-Cola Beverages is acquiring Ozgorkey Coca-Cola, the third largest bottling franchise in Romania, for £15m.
05-Feb-1999

Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries is set to win its battle to acquire Marston Thompson & Evershed for £285m, having won 73% of shareholder support.
05-Feb-1999

Lyndale Foods has acquired Fords the Bakers of East Lothian, and it will now have a total of 334 shops, six retail bakeries and 4,500 employees.
02-Feb-1999

Unigate is planning to acquire Wessex Dairies, the milk delivery business, for £7m, which should increase the number of households served by about 10%.
02-Feb-1999

Inchcape is to sell its Latin American bottling operation to Embotelladora Arica of Chile for $750m.
02-Feb-1999

Pioneer Foodservice is opening a £1m depot in Gateshead and expanding its Carlisle headquarters with the creation of 20 jobs.
28-Jan-1999

S&A Foods is planning a £7m expansion at its ethnic ready meals factory in Derby, and the workforce is expected to rise from 800 to 1,000 over the next year.
28-Jan-1999

Global Group is to acquire Plumtree Farms, the frozen meat supplier, for £5m.
28-Jan-1999

Cromer Crab Company is to set up a new factory to process luxury shellfish products and expects to create 160 jobs over the next three years.
23-Jan-1999

Walkers Snack Foods is planning a £30m investment programme that will create 60 jobs, including an £11m expansion at its distribution centre in Leicester.
21-Jan-1999

Unigate is to acquire Fisher Quality Foods, the supplier of sauces and dressings, from Albert Fisher for £43m, and will combine the business with its fresh foods division.
20-Jan-1999

Unilever is to acquire Mountain Cream, the Chinese ice cream company, for undisclosed terms, as part of a long-term strategy to expand its Chinese food operations.
19-Jan-1999

Dairy Crest has bought Longs Dairies for £4m, in order to strengthen its position as the leading supplier to doorstep customers in East Anglia.
14-Jan-1999

Express Dairies is to invest £1m in the expansion of the Claymore Creamery in Nairn, which will create an unspecified number of new jobs and help the company with its plans to increase its share of the Scottish market from 8% to up to 25%.
11-Jan-1999

Allied Domecq has sold Cantrell & Cochrane, the Irish drinks distribution business, to BC Partners for £519m, and the proceeds will be used to reduce debt.
09-Jan-1999

Brake Bros is planning to expand the storage and distribution facilities at its frozen food factory in Long Eaton with the creation of 33 jobs.
07-Jan-1999

Gerald McDonald is to set up a new operation in Basildon to blend and store fruit juices and spices, with the creation of 30 new jobs.
07-Jan-1999