Pork Farms facts for kids

Pork Farms is a company from Nottingham, England. They make and sell tasty bakery items, mostly with pork. The company started as a small pie shop in 1931. In 1971, it became a public company on the London Stock Exchange. Since 2017, a company called Lloyds Development Capital has owned the brand.

How Pork Farms Began

In the early 1940s, a skilled baker named Ken Parr got a loan. He used it to open his very own pie shop. Ken became known for making delicious pies. He created a special pork pie recipe with a dark, crispy crust. Later, he bought another pie shop that started in 1931. This shop was called Pork Farms, and Ken decided to use that name for all his stores.

Growing the Business

In the mid-1960s, a big food boss named W. Garfield Weston bought Ken Parr's business. Ken became the Chairman of the company. In 1969, a rival pie company in Nottingham, TN Parr, bought Pork Farms. This brought the two companies together under the Pork Farms name.

More Companies Join

In 1972, Pork Farms bought another pie company called Holland's Pies. The whole group then became a public company in 1971. This meant its shares could be bought and sold on the London Stock Exchange.

New Partnerships

In 1974, Pork Farms teamed up with Northern Foods. They created a new company called Porkdown Ltd. This company was meant to supply meat products to a French food group called Danone. However, Danone soon decided to focus only on their milk products. This meant they ended their contract with Porkdown.

Changes in Ownership

Because of this, Porkdown closed down. In 1978, Pork Farms was sold to Northern Foods. Northern Foods later combined Pork Farms with other companies. These included Palethorpes and Bowyers. Together, they formed a new company called Pork Farms Bowyers.

In 2001, Pork Farms Bowyers sold off their pork sausage business. They wanted to focus more on baked meat products like pies.

Investing in Pies

In 2007, a company called Vision Capital bought Pork Farms. There were new rules about making Melton Mowbray Pork Pies. These pies had to be made close to Melton Mowbray. So, Pork Farms closed a plant and invested £12 million. This money helped them make more Melton Mowbray pies at their Nottingham factory.

By 2010, the company had over 2,000 employees. They worked at five different locations across England.

Celebrating 80 Years

In 2011, Pork Farms celebrated its 80th birthday. They launched new products and spent £1 million on a relaunch. Their packaging proudly said 'Making & Baking since 1931'. It also said 'Butchers, Bakers, Master Piemakers'.

In 2014, Pork Farms planned to buy two more factories. These factories made pastry products in Spalding and Poole. The sale was approved in 2015. That same year, Vision Capital combined Pork Farms with other pastry brands. They created a new group called Addo Food Group.

Pork Farms Today

In 2017, Addo Food Group was sold to Lloyds Development Capital. This is another company that invests in businesses.