Associated British Foods
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Associated British Foods PLC (LSE: [ABF]
ABF was incorporated in 1935. It was initially a baker, and it invented the concept of selling pre-prepared sliced bread in the 1930s. It has bought and sold many businesses around the world over the decades, including the British supermarket chain Fine Fare. ABF's current brands include Allison, Sunblest and Kingsmill bread, Ovaltine, Ryvita, Nelsons jam and Twinings tea. The group's subsidiaries include British Sugar plc (bought in 1991), flour milling group Allied Mills, animal foodstuffs company Allied Grain and food ingredients company Abitec Corporation. It also owns a discount clothing retailer, Primark (Penneys in the Republic of Ireland).
The company formerly owned the Burtons Biscuits brand which it sold in 2000 to a private equity firm and is now part of Burtons Foods.
In 1997 ABF sold its Irish operations to Tesco. These businesses were; Quinnsworth and Crazy Prices in the Republic of Ireland and Stewarts Supermarkets Ltd and Crazy Prices in Northern Ireland, the Stewarts Winebarrel off-licence chain, Lifestyle Sports & Leisure Ltd. (a retail sports and leisure business), Kingsway Fresh Foods (a meat processing facility) and Daily Wrap Produce (a fruit and vegetable packaging plant).
The company sells its products throughout the world, with two thirds of its turnover coming from Europe. Its turnover for the year ended 17 September 2005 was £5.622 billion, and profit after taxation was £348 million.
The company was developed by Canadian businessman, W. Garfield Weston, in tandem with his North American operations, George Weston Ltd.. Following the death of the founder in 1978, control of ABF was passed on to his son Garry, while the North American operations fell to his son Galen. While Garry maintained the company's prominence in the European foods market, ABF's growth has been eclipsed by the phenomenal performance of George Weston Ltd.. George G. Weston of the British Westons became chief executive of ABF on 1 April 2005, and Galen Weston, the chief executive of George Weston Ltd, is a non-executive director.
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