Cranswick plc
 | |
| Formerly | Cranswick Mill Group p.l.c. (1972–1991)[1] |
|---|---|
| Company type | Public |
| ISIN | GB0002318888  |
| Industry | Food |
| Founded | 1972 |
| Headquarters | Hull, England |
Key people | |
| Revenue |  £2,323.0 million (2023)[2] |
| £145.9 million (2023)[2] | |
| £111.4 million (2023)[2] | |
Number of employees | 10,422 (2023)[2] |
| Website | cranswick |
Cranswick plc is a leading UK food producer and supplier of premium, fresh and added-value food products. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
History
[edit]Cranswick was founded by Jim Bloom, Mike Field and twenty-one other East Riding of Yorkshire farmers producing pig feed under the name Cranswick Mill in 1972.[1] The company subsequently diversified into food production. It was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1985.[3] In 1993 Cranswick diversified into pet products with the purchase of George Buckton and then, in 2009, sold its pet products business.[4] The company has recently moved back to breeding and rearing its own British pigs after acquiring East Anglian Pigs Limited and livestock and assets from Dent Ltd in 2013.[5]
Cranswick has developed through a combination of acquisitions and subsequent organic growth, enabling the company to build upon its philosophy of working with artisan producers to provide premium, market leading products to a much wider audience. The Company now serves its customers from twelve production facilities across the UK.[6]
On 25 July 2016, the company announced it had sold The Sandwich Factory Holdings Ltd for £15 million to Greencore.[7][8]
Animal abuse
[edit]On 11 March 2023, a site rearing pigs for Cranswick gained media attention after video emerged showing pigs living in squalor with others being left for hours to die. Footage showed bins filled with dead pigs and animals cannibalising each other.[9]
On 1 April 2024, footage emerged from a Cranswick site in Norfolk showing workers hitting pigs in the face and back before they entered a carbon dioxide gas chamber.[10] After reviewing the footage the RSPCA stated "alternatives to CO2 [gas chambers] need to be developed as a matter of urgency and we urge the UK government to follow the EU's lead to seek a phase-out by investing in research to find a more humane alternative". Protesters occupied the site on 3 April 2024.[11]
Acquisitions
[edit]- 2001: Continental Fine Foods[12]
- 2003: Cranswick plc acquires The Sandwich Factory[13]
- 2005: Perkins Chilled Foods[14]
- 2006: Delico, a cooked meats producer[15]
- 2009: Bowes of Norfolk[16]
- 2012: Kingston Foods, a cooked meats business[17]
- 2013: East Anglian Pigs Ltd and Dent Ltd, pig rearing businesses[18]
- 2014: Benson Park, a premium cooked poultry business[19]
- 2016: CCL Holdings Limited and Crown Chicken Limited, a leading integrated poultry producer[20]
- 2016: Dunbia Ballymena, a leading Northern Irish pork processing business[21]
Operations
[edit]Cranswick produces fresh pork, gourmet sausages, cooked meat, air-dried bacon, premium cooked poultry, charcuterie, sandwiches and gourmet pastry products.[22] The Company's brands include Bodega, Weight Watchers, Woodall's, Simply Sausages, Red Lion Foods and the Black Farmer.[23] Cranswick's core market is the UK but the company has a rapidly developing export business serving the European, US and South East Asian markets.[24]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Cranswick PLC overview – Find and update company information – GOV.UK". Companies House. 29 September 1972. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
- ^ a b c d "Annual Report 2023" (PDF). Cranswick PLC. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
- ^ "London Stock Exchange: Case studies". Archived from the original on 23 December 2008. Retrieved 20 December 2008.
- ^ "Cranswick Mill Group acquires George Buckton". Thomson M&A. 29 June 1993. Retrieved 20 December 2008.
- ^ "Cranswick expands pig farming". The Telegraph. 20 May 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
- ^ "Preliminary Results 2013" (PDF). Cranswick. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
- ^ "Greencore Announces £15m Bolt-On Acquisition In UK Food To Go – Greencore". 25 July 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
- ^ "Greencore buys Cranswick's sandwich business". FoodManufacture.co.uk. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
- ^ Farhoud, Nada (11 March 2023). "Grim lives of farmed pigs forced to live in squalor and left for hours to die". The Mirror. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- ^ Dalton, Jane (3 April 2024). "Pigs hit in face before 'agonising' CO2 death at supplier for Tesco, Asda, Aldi and M&S". The Independent. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
- ^ Dunlop, Alex; Gordon-Farleigh, Neve (3 April 2024). "Protesters arrested at Cranswick Country Foods in Norfolk". BBC News. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
- ^ "Cranswick plc acquires Continental Fine Foods". Thomson M&A. 30 July 2001. Retrieved 20 December 2008.
- ^ "The Sandwich Factory". Food Chain Magazine. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
- ^ "Cranswick buys division of Perkins Foods". The Grocer. 21 December 2004. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
- ^ "Cranswick buys cooked meats producer Delico for £17.9m". Europe Intelligence Wire. 2 November 2006. Retrieved 20 December 2008.
- ^ "Cranswick snaps up Bowes of Norfolk". The Grocer. 6 April 2009. Retrieved 9 April 2009.
- ^ "Cranswick profits from 'quick service' trade". The Telegraph. 3 July 2012. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
- ^ "Cranswick snaps up East Anglian Pigs". Meat Info. 30 April 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
- ^ "Cranswick gobbles up Yorkshire cooked poultry product firm". City A.M. 24 October 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
- ^ "UK sausage maker Cranswick buys Crown Chicken for £40m". FT. 11 April 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
- ^ "Cranswick acquires Dunbia Ballymena". Meat Management. 16 November 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
- ^ "Cranswick Company Profile". Bloomberg. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
- ^ "Cranswick plc". Financial Times. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
- ^ "Hull food firm Cranswick sets sights on Asia sales". Hull Daily Mail. 8 April 2014. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2015.