Booker Group

Booker Group plc
Subsidiary
Industry Retail catering
Founded 1835
Headquarters Wellingborough, Northamptonshire
Key people
 Richard Rose, Chairman
Charles Wilson, CEO
Products Cash and carry outlets
Revenue £4,991.5 million (2016)[1]
£155.1 million (2016)[1]
£0.99p(2016)[1]
Number of employees
 13,000 (2017)[2]
Parent Tesco plc
Website www.booker.co.uk

Booker Group plc was the United Kingdom's largest food wholesale operator, offering branded and private-label goods to over 400,000 customers, including independent convenience stores, grocers, pubs, and restaurants.[3] The company also founded, and was previously a sponsor of, the Booker Prize (originally the Booker–McConnell Prize) for literary fiction, which was established in 1968.[4]

In January 2017, it was announced that the supermarket retailer Tesco had agreed to merge the company for £3.7 billion. It was confirmed on 5 March 2018 that Tesco had completed its merger of Booker.

History

Origins

The company was founded by George and Richard Booker in 1835, when they bought their first ship and established the Booker Line, which focused on shipping goods.[5] It later diversified into the distribution of goods, and gradually disposed of its fleet of ships. With a new focus on wholesale food distribution, the company had over 100 warehouses across the United Kingdom by 1978, and was trading as Booker, McConnell Ltd.[6]

Among other interests, it operated the sugar industry in Guyana (British Guiana before independence in 1966), running five Booker Line ships, until it was nationalised around 1970. After six months, Booker was called back to market the sugar. Booker had a long history of exploitation of sugar workers through the indentured labour system during the 19th and 20th centuries. At its peak, it controlled 75% of the sugar industry in British Guiana and was so powerful that a common joke was to refer to the country as "Booker's Guiana".[7] In 1952, Jock Campbell took over the chairmanship of the company and his Fabian social politics transformed it dramatically into a benevolent force providing major benefits for sugar workers.[8] Jock Campbell was also instrumental in the setting up of Booker's Author Division, which sponsored the Booker Prize.[9]

Expansion

In 1986, the company set up a short-lived co-venture between the directors of Siriol Animation to create Kalisto.[10] Kalisto also developed a show called Space Baby (which eventually became Fantastic Max), along with another series called Satellite City (which was co-produced with Fairwater Films)[11] and the animated film The Little Engine That Could.[12] Kalisto barely lasted a year before Booker bought the rights back.[13]

Happy Shopper, Black Moor Estate, Moor Allerton, Leeds

In November 1996, Booker bought Nurdin & Peacock, taking ownership of the convenience store operator and brand Happy Shopper.[3] Happy Shopper's products are sold by Booker to independent convenience stores and off licences. In 2000, the brand's logo of a smiling face with blonde hair was dropped from products and packaging as part of a redesign by Partners In Communication, a design consultant company.[14]

In 2000, Booker was purchased by Iceland Supermarkets, via its Big Food Group vehicle.[15] Then in 2005 Big Food Group was in turn bought by acquisitive Icelandic group, Baugur,[16] which split Booker and Iceland again into different companies.[17] In June 2007 Booker reversed into an AIM-listed wholesaler of groceries Blueheath, to form Booker Group plc.[18] Baugur sold all its assets in Booker Cash & Carry in June 2008[19] only weeks after its founder was found guilty of accounting irregularities.[20] Baugur collapsed in February 2009 amidst the Icelandic financial crisis.[21]

In 2009, Booker opened a store in Mumbai and planned to expand its cash and carry stores across India.[22] In May 2012, Metro Group sold the 30 Makro United Kingdom stores and all operational assets to Booker Group Plc, in return for 9.99% of Booker's share capital, plus £15.8 million in cash; although the merger was referred to the Office of Fair Trading it was cleared by the Competition Commission in April 2013.[23] In May 2015, Booker Group confirmed it had reached an agreement with Musgrave Group to buy the Budgens and Londis grocery chains, for £40 million.[24]

In January 2017, Tesco announced that it had reached an agreement to merge with Booker Group for £3.7 billion, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval.[25] It was confirmed on the 5 March 2018 that Tesco had completed its merger with Booker.[26]

Operations

The company supplies approximately 1.5 million businesses across the United Kingdom, through its different divisions. It operates cash-and-carry branches throughout the United Kingdom (as well as a few in India) and operates a national delivery service in the United Kingdom.[27]

The industry journal The Grocer named Booker the "Green Wholesaler of the Year" at the Grocer Gold Awards.[2]

The group consists of several divisions each specialising in different areas of the wholesale market in the United Kingdom.

  • Booker Wholesale — a cash, carry and delivery businesses in the United Kingdom focusing on independent retailers, grocers, pubs and restaurants.[2]
  • Makro Self Service Wholesalers — a cash and carry business in the United Kingdom focusing on caterers and small professional businesses.[2]
  • Booker Direct — a delivered wholesale business serving large businesses, such as leading United Kingdom cinemas and the Prison Service.[2]
  • Classic Drinks — a delivered wholesale business supplying pubs and bars.
  • Chef Direct — a delivered wholesale business.[28]
  • Ritter Courivaud — a delivered wholesale business specializing in fine foods serving top United Kingdom restaurants.[29]
  • Premier Stores — a symbol group of independent convenience stores. The Premier name is owned by Booker Group with the stores owned by individuals who agree to a minimum spend each week with Booker Wholesale in exchange for business support and access to the branding.[30]
  • Booker India — a subsidiary of the group operating in India.[31]
  • Booker Retail Partners GB — the Budgens and Londis symbol chains.[32]

Booker author's division

During Jock Campbell's chairmanship of the company, then known as Booker-McConnell, he was also instrumental in the setting up of the Booker's author division. Campbell purchased 51 per cent of Glidrose Ltd, which owned the copyrights of his friend Ian Fleming for £100,000.[8] This purchase was the foundation of the Authors' Division[33] which also acquired rights to some well-known authors' works, such as Dennis Wheatley[33] and the 64% stake in Agatha Christie's works not controlled by her family.[34] In 1998, Agatha Christie's stakeholding was sold to Chorion for £10million,[34] who themselves sold it on in 2012 to Acorn Media UK.[35] The division also co-founded and sponsored the prestigious Booker-McConnell Prize for literature in 1968, now known as Man Booker Prize, the Booker Prize, or simply, "the Booker". This was transferred to the independent Booker Prize Foundation in 2002 and became sponsored by the Man Group plc, who opted to retain the well-known "Booker" name.[9]

Chairmen of the Author's division have included Charles William Tyrell (1960s–1970s), Dennis H. Joss (1970s–1980s) and Agatha Christie's grandson Mathew Caradoc Thomas Prichard (1990s–2000s).[36]

Booker's Happy Shopper brand is parodied in the game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, but renamed The Hippy Shopper. The store in the game bears a very close resemblance to the real life stores.[37]

See also

  • Premier Stores – Booker convenience store chain
  • Euro Shopper - Product branding across Europe, owned by Booker in the United Kingdom.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Final Results 2016" (PDF). Booker Group. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Business Overview". Booker. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Booker Cash & Carry Ltd. History". International Directory of Company Histories, Vol.68. St. James Press, 2005. Funding Universe. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  4. ↑ "Broker Group PLC". ft.com. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
  5. ↑ Booker Line 1835 – 1978, Page 2
  6. ↑ Booker Line 1835 – 1978, Page16
  7. ↑ "The Bookers Empire". guyana.org. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  8. 1 2 "OBITUARIES: Lord Campbell of Eskan". The Independent. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  9. 1 2 "The Man Booker Prizes". Themanbookerprize.com. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  10. ↑ "Booker Animation Limited". Companies House. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  11. ↑ "Satellite City". Planète Jeunesse. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  12. ↑ "The Little Engine That Could (1991)". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  13. ↑ "Booker PLC". IMBd. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
  14. ↑ "Happy Shopper Brand Redesign". Partners In Communication. 12 May 2009. Retrieved 12 May 2009.
  15. ↑ "Iceland in £373m Booker takeover". BBC. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  16. ↑ "Baugur buys UK's Big Food Group". BBC News. 19 December 2004. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  17. ↑ "BFG agrees to Baugur bid". Food & Drink. 20 December 2004. Retrieved 6 April 2008.
  18. ↑ Fletcher, Richard (12 May 2007). "Baugur profits plunge by more than two-thirds Box Head arrow to line with head". London: Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 6 April 2008.
  19. ↑ Baugur sells Booker stake as part of focus on retail, Retail Week, 24 June 2008, retrieved 27 December 2008
  20. ↑ "Baugur boss loses court appeal". Reuters. 6 June 2008. Retrieved 20 November 2010.
  21. ↑ "Hamleys investor seeks protection". BBC News. 4 February 2009. Retrieved 4 February 2009.
  22. ↑ "UK's cash & carry plans 20 India stores in 5 years". Business Standard. 7 March 2012. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
  23. ↑ A report on the completed acquisition by Booker Group PLC of Makro Holding Limited Archived 16 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
  24. ↑ "Booker Group to buy Budgens and Londis". BBC News. 21 May 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  25. ↑ "Tesco to buy Budgens and Londis brand owner Booker". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  26. ↑ Cahill, Helen (5 March 2018). "Done deal: Tesco completes £3.7bn merger with Booker Group". Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  27. ↑ "What We Do". Booker Group. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  28. ↑ "Introduction to Chef Direct..." Chef Direct. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  29. ↑ "Booker acquires Ritter for £14.5m". The Financial Times Ltd. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  30. ↑ "Premier Stores package". Archived from the original on 7 April 2015. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  31. ↑ "About Booker India". Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  32. ↑ "Joining forces to help independent retailers" (PDF). Bookers. 21 May 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
  33. 1 2 Griswold, John. "Ian Fleming's James Bond: Annotations and Chronologies for Ian Fleming's". Authorhouse/Google Books. p. 371. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  34. 1 2 "Chorion grabs the Booker prize". BBC News. 3 June 1998.
  35. ↑ "Agatha Christie Estate Acquired By U.S.-Based Acorn Media". Penske Business Media, LLC. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  36. ↑ Jane's Major Companies of Europe. Jane's Information Group.
  37. ↑ "Grand Theft Auto Franchise Playfully Flicks Mud at Its Birthplace: Scotland". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
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