Northern Foods facts for kids
 |
|
| Private | |
| Industry | Food |
| Founded | 1937 as Northern Dairies |
| Headquarters | Wakefield, England |
|
Key people
|
Ranjit Singh Boparan |
| Revenue | £975.2 million (2009) |
|
Operating income
|
£52.7 million (2009) |
| £2.5 million (2009) | |
|
Number of employees
|
9,890 (2009) |
| Parent | Boparan Holdings |
| Subsidiaries | Gunstones bakery, Solway Foods, Fox's Biscuits, Green Isle Foods, Hollands Pies, Pennine Foods, Matthew Walker |
Northern Foods was a big British company that made many different kinds of food. Its main office was in Wakefield, England. This company, along with Marks & Spencer, helped create the idea of "chilled food" in the UK. Chilled food means fresh, ready-to-eat meals and snacks that you keep in the fridge.
A key person in the company's growth was Christopher Haskins. He was the son-in-law of the founder, Alec Horsley. Northern Foods was once listed on the London Stock Exchange, meaning people could buy shares in it. In 2011, another company called 2 Sisters bought Northern Foods, and it was no longer listed on the stock exchange.
Contents
History
How it Started (20th Century)
The company began in 1937. It was started by Alec Horsley as a family dairy business. This dairy was located in Holme on Spalding Moor. During World War II, Horsley bought many other local dairies. This helped his business become a major dairy company in the Humber area.
In 1942, the business was officially named Northern Dairies. By 1956, it became a public company. This meant that anyone could buy shares in the company. In 1958, Alec's son, Nicholas Horsley, joined the company. He later became a director. One of his early successes was buying a share in a small ice-cream company called Mr Whippy. He later sold it for a good profit.
The dairy business was making a lot of money. This was partly because of government rules that set milk prices. This money helped the company start making other types of food. In 1972, Northern Dairies changed its name to Northern Foods.
Nicholas Horsley's brother-in-law, Christopher Haskins, met an executive from Marks & Spencer (M&S). M&S started buying milk from Northern Foods. Soon, they also bought yogurt and other foods, like the first fresh trifle for M&S. This partnership grew huge. Northern Foods ended up selling over half a billion pounds worth of food to M&S each year. Northern Foods also made products for other shops.
In 1986, Northern Foods built a special factory called Fenlands Food Factory. It cost £8 million and was only for making food for M&S. At the time, it was one of the most advanced food factories in Europe.
Nicholas Horsley helped the company grow into many different areas. They started making cakes for M&S (through Park Cakes). They also bought flour mills, a brewing company, Fox's Biscuits, and Pork Farms. During this time, Northern Foods became a leader in making chilled, ready-made meals and sandwiches for supermarkets.
Nicholas Horsley retired early due to health reasons. By 1986, Christopher Haskins became the chairman of Northern Foods. In 1994, the Milk Marketing Board was closed down. This caused milk prices to drop, which affected all dairy companies, including Northern Foods. In 1998, Northern Foods separated its dairy business, called Express Dairies. This was done because the lower profits from milk were affecting the company's overall value. Express Dairies was later bought by a Danish company called Arla Amba.
Growth and Changes (21st Century)
Christopher Haskins left his role as CEO in 2002. Jo Stewart took over from him. In 2004, Patricia O'Driscol became the new CEO.
In 2004, M&S faced a possible takeover. Because of this, M&S decided to work differently with its suppliers. They started buying less from Northern Foods to spread out their suppliers. This led to some financial challenges for Northern Foods.
In 2005, Patricia O'Driscoll started a big plan to reorganize the company. She hired Stefan Barden in 2006 to help with this plan. They sold off many parts of the business. These included the chilled food delivery service, flour mills, cake businesses, and chilled pastry businesses. Some factories were also closed. After the reorganization, O'Driscoll stepped down, and Stefan Barden became CEO in 2007. For the next few years, the company saw sales grow and profits increase. This happened even with changing food prices and pressure from customers.
Northern Foods was bought by 2 Sisters PLC in May 2011. This helped the company deal with its large pension plan. On May 13, 2011, Northern Foods was removed from the London Stock Exchange. The Northern Foods factories still make food for major UK supermarkets as part of the 2 Sisters group.
In 2020, Northern Foods sold its famous Fox's Biscuits brand. It was sold to Ferrero SpA, an Italian company known for chocolate and snacks.
Products and Brands
Northern Foods owned many different food brands over the years. Some of these included:
- Bowyers
- Cavaghan & Gray Seafood
- Dalepak Foods
- Donegal Catch
- Fox's Biscuits
- Green Isle Food Groups
- Gunstones Bakery
- Holland's Pies
- Matthew Walker
- Pennine Foods
- Solway Foods
