United Biscuits
![]() | |
United Biscuits | |
Company type | Private |
Industry | Food |
Predecessor | United Biscuits (holdings) plc |
Founded | 18 March 1948 |
Headquarters | London,England,UK |
Key people | Murat Ülker (Chairman)[1] David Murray (Managing Director)[1] Sridhar Ramamurthy (Chief financial officer)[1] |
Products | Sweet and salty snacks |
Revenue | ![]() |
![]() | |
![]() | |
Number of employees | 4,526 (2018) |
Parent | Pladis(50–75%)[3] |
Website | www |
United Biscuits(UB) is a Britishmultinationalfood manufacturer, makers ofMcVitie'sbiscuits,Jacob'sCream Crackers,andTwiglets.The company was listed on theLondon Stock Exchangeand was once a constituent of theFTSE 100 Index.In November 2014, the company was acquired byYıldız Holdingand is now part ofPladis.
United Biscuits manufactures in a number of countries across Europe, such as theNetherlands,FranceandBelgium.It also has a manufacturing site inIndia.Its company'sheadquartersis inChiswick Business Parkin west London.
History
[edit]United Biscuits (UB) was formed in 1948 by a merger of two Scottish family businesses:McVitie & Priceand MacFarlane Lang.[4]In 1962,William Crawford & Sons,a business founded inLeith,Edinburghin 1813 which was best known for itsshortbread,was acquired by United Biscuits for £6 million.[5]In 1965, the company also acquired William MacDonald & Sons for £2.8 million, and brought the Penguin brand to the group.[6]
The company was listed on theLondon Stock Exchangeas United Biscuits plc on 27 July 1948.[7]
In 1972, United Biscuits acquiredCarr's of Carlisle,makers ofTable Water biscuits,fromJames Goldsmith'sCavenham Foodsfor £2.75 million.[8]Two years later in 1974, it acquired the US-basedKeebler Companyfor $53 million. It also owned theWimpy Barfast food restaurant chain between 1977 and 1989, before selling it off toBurger King.[9]
United Biscuits acquired the frozen food companyRoss Young'sfromHansonin 1988 for £335 million.[10]
It sold Keebler for $500 million in 1995 after giving up efforts to break into the American market.[11]
United Biscuits was de-listed from the London Stock Exchange and acquired in May 2000 by Finalrealm, a consortium of financial investors, as well asNabiscoHoldings Corporation. As part of the transaction, UB acquired Nabisco's European businesses[12]and divested several part of its international business inScandinavia,continental Europe,Asia (Keebler Malaysia and Singapore), several brands includingTUCand 70% shareholding inFazerKeksit (Biscuit) in Finland toGroupe Danoneand Far East (China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan) to Nabisco.[13]The company soldYoung's Bluecrestin 2001, in order to concentrate on the sweet biscuit sector.[14]In September 2004, United Biscuits bought the UK portion ofGroupe Danone's Jacob's Biscuit Group for £240 million, including Cream Crackers and Twiglets.[15]In July 2006, the company sold its Southern European biscuits business toKraft Foods,which in turn left the owner syndicate.[16]
In October 2006,MidOcean Partnerssold the company to a consortium made up of theBlackstone GroupandPAI Partners.[17]The deal was completed in December 2006.[18][19]
In December 2012 UB agreed the sale of itsKP Snacksbusiness toIntersnackfor £500 million.[20]On 3 November 2014, private equity funds managed byBlackstoneandPAI Partnersannounced the sale of United Biscuits toYıldız Holding.[21]
Operations
[edit]The core of the business is in the United Kingdom, where it produces biscuits under a number of brand names including:McVitie'sbiscuits andJacob'sCream Crackers.[22]
The company manufactures in a number of countries across Europe, such as theNetherlands,FranceandBelgium.It also has a manufacturing site inIndia.[23]
The company'sheadquartersis inChiswick Business Parkin west London. The company's main UK distribution centre is atAshby-de-la-Zouch.[24]
Brands
[edit]Jacob's
[edit]- Biscuits for Cheese
- Mini Cheddars
- Cheddars
- Cheeselets
- Choice Grain
- Cornish Wafer
- Cream Crackers
- Essentials Crackers
- Mediterraneo
- Thai Bites
- Water Biscuits
- Twiglets
- Crinklys
- Oddities
- TUC (UK market only)
McVities
[edit]- Ginger Nuts
- Digestives
- Hobnobs
- BN
- Rich Tea
- Penguin
- Taxi
- Lyle's
- Mini Rolls
- Club
- Gold
- Iced Gems
- Happy Faces
- Jaffa Cakes
- United (discontinued)[25]
United Biscuits Network
[edit]TheUnited Biscuits Network,a closed-circuit radio network serving their factories across the UK which was active from 1970 to 1979, spawned the career of UK radio presenterSteve Allenand TV and radio personalityDale Winton.[26]
In popular culture
[edit]In his 2009 bookThe Pleasures and Sorrows of Work,Alain de Bottonchronicles his tour and brief experiences with employees of United Biscuits as they launched the "Moments" biscuit line.[27]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^abc"Companies House Records".Retrieved4 July2020.
- ^abc"Annual Accounts for the tear ended 31 December 2020".Retrieved2 October2021.
- ^"Companies House PSC register".Retrieved4 July2020.
- ^"A New Biscuit Company."The Times[London, England] 19 March 1948: 9.
- ^"United Biscuits Crawfords For More Than £6M."The Times[London, England] 24 May 1962: 19.
- ^"£2.8M. Biscuit Merger."The Times[London, England] 21 January 1965: 22.
- ^"Archive issuer list 1999".Retrieved4 July2020.
- ^Anthony Rowley. "Cavenham sell biscuit interests for £4m."The Times[London, England] 5 July 1972: 19.
- ^"Information on Wimpy's FranchiseArchived11 February 2013 at theWayback Machine",Caterer Search.Retrieved on 29 January 2008.
- ^"History".United Biscuits. Archived fromthe originalon 26 July 2011.Retrieved4 January2009.
- ^United Biscuits Sells Keebler for $500 Million
- ^"UB to weigh up its options".Eurofood. 25 April 2002.Retrieved12 April2007.
- ^United Biscuits (holdings) Limited, 1999 Annual Report
- ^"United Biscuits selling Young's stake".Eurofood. 29 March 2001.Retrieved12 April2007.
- ^"Danone sells its UK biscuits to United".The Independent.24 July 2004. Archived fromthe originalon 27 December 2007.Retrieved12 April2007.
- ^"City sandwich".The Daily Telegraph.London. 11 July 2006.Retrieved4 January2009.
- ^Parkinson, Gary (26 October 2006)."Private-equity companies snap up United Biscuits in a [pound]1.6bn".The Independent.Retrieved12 April2007.
- ^"Blackstone and PAI complete purchase of UB"(Press release). United Biscuits. 15 December 2006. Archived fromthe originalon 27 September 2007.Retrieved12 April2007.
- ^"Cinven, MidOcean to sell United Biscuits"(Press release). Alt Assets. 25 October 2006.Retrieved25 November2014.
- ^"KP Snacks snapped up by Intersnack in £500m deal".Manchester Evening News.5 December 2012. Archived fromthe originalon 8 December 2012.
- ^"Turkish food giant gobbles up United Biscuits".The Daily Telegraph.3 November 2014.Retrieved5 November2014.
- ^"McVitie's and Jacob's owner Yildiz plans to sell British biscuits around the world".The Independent.8 June 2016.Retrieved17 October2017.
- ^"Team Builder".Business Today. 16 March 2014.Retrieved17 October2017.
- ^"United Biscuits Midlands Distribution Centre".Mister What.Retrieved17 October2017.
- ^"United Bars are the eighties sweets we need to see back on our shelves".The Daily Edge.9 February 2016.
- ^"Pick of the Pops Biography".BBC. Archived fromthe originalon 12 February 2009.Retrieved4 January2009.
- ^"The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work".The Economist. 26 March 2009.Retrieved17 October2017.
External links
[edit]- 1948 establishments in England
- United Biscuits
- Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange
- Snack food manufacturers of the United Kingdom
- History of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham
- Food and drink companies established in 1948
- British companies established in 1948
- Yıldız Holding
- 2006 mergers and acquisitions
- 2014 mergers and acquisitions
- British subsidiaries of foreign companies