Associated British Foods facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Associated British Foods plc

Formerly	George Weston Holdings plc (1934–1994)
Type	Public limited company
Traded as	LSE: ABF FTSE 100 Component
Industry	Food processing Retail
Founded	20 October 1935; 89 years ago (1935-10-20)
Founder	W. Garfield Weston
Headquarters	London, England, UK
Area served	Worldwide
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Products	Food ingredients
Revenue	£19.750 billion (2023)
Operating income	£1.383 billion (2023)
Net income	£1.068 billion (2023)
Total assets	£18.844 billion (2023)
Total equity	£11.193 billion (2023)
Owner	Wittington Investments (54.5%)
Number of employees	133,000 (2024)
Subsidiaries	AB Agri AB Mauri AB Sugar AB World Foods Allied Bakeries Allied Mills ACH Food Companies British Sugar Dorset Cereals Illovo Sugar Primark Wander AG

Associated British Foods plc (often called ABF) is a big company from the UK. It works all over the world. ABF makes and sells many different kinds of food. It also owns retail stores.

ABF is one of the world's largest makers of sugar and baker's yeast. They also make other important food ingredients. Their grocery part creates popular food brands like Mazola, Ovaltine, Ryvita, Jordans, Kingsmill, and Twinings.

The company also owns the clothing store chain, Primark. Primark has hundreds of stores in many countries. ABF is listed on the London Stock Exchange. This means its shares can be bought and sold there.

The Story of Associated British Foods

Early Years: How ABF Started

The company was started in 1935 by a Canadian named W. Garfield Weston. It was first called Food Investments Limited. A month later, its name changed to Allied Bakeries Limited.

Between 1935 and 1956, Allied Bakeries bought ten different bakery companies. One of the biggest was the British part of the Aerated Bread Company in 1955. This deal included their bakeries and their A.B.C. Tearooms. At that time, Allied Bakeries already made a lot of bread and biscuits in the UK.

In 1960, Allied Bakeries changed its name again to Associated British Foods. The A.B.C. brand was used until 1982. After Garfield Weston passed away in 1978, his son Garry Weston took over the company.

ABF sold its Fine Fare supermarkets in 1986. In 1991, they bought British Sugar, a big sugar producer. Later, in 1997, ABF sold its retail stores in Ireland to Tesco. This included stores like Quinnsworth and Crazy Prices.

ABF in the New Millennium

In 2000, ABF sold its part of Burton's Biscuits. In 2002, they bought several food brands from Unilever. These included Mazola corn oil and Argo cornstarch. In 2004, they added Tone's spices and Fleischman yeast. In 2007, they bought Patak's, which makes Indian food.

What ABF Does: Brands and Subsidiaries

ABF has many well-known brands and companies under its umbrella.

Popular Brands You Might Know

Kingsmill bread is a popular ABF brand.

Ryvita crispbread is another well-known ABF product.

Companies Owned by ABF

Who Controls ABF

More than half of ABF (54.5%) is owned by a company called Wittington Investments. Most of Wittington Investments (79.2%) is owned by the Garfield Weston Foundation. This foundation is a very large charity in the UK. The rest of Wittington Investments is owned by members of the Weston family.

Wittington Investments also owns other famous businesses like Fortnum & Mason (a fancy food store) and Heal & Son (a furniture store). George G. Weston became the main boss of ABF in 2005.

Images for kids

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  Old Argo laundry starch box. Argo is now an ABF brand.

See also

In Spanish: Associated British Foods para niños