Hillards

Hillards
Public
Industry Retail
Fate Acquired
Successor Tesco
Founded 1885
Defunct 1987
Headquarters Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire
Products Groceries

Hillards plc was a small supermarket chain from the North of England, bought out in a hostile takeover by Tesco in May 1987.

History

The company was founded by John Wesley Hillard in 1885, in the West Yorkshire town of Cleckheaton.[1] The first shop was opened in Lion Chambers there, and shortly after 1900, there were twenty shops operating as Lion Stores.[1] By 1951, there were over seventy stores, and by 1968, it had warehouse size stores in Wakefield, Lincoln and York.[1]

In 1970, the trade name Lion Stores was dropped in favour of Hillards and in 1972, the company was first listed on the London Stock Exchange.[1] Peter Hartley, a grandson of the founder, became executive chairman in 1983 and in May 1987, following a hostile bid, the business was acquired by Tesco for £220m.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Hillards Charitable Trust
  2. ↑ Clark, Tim (15 April 2008). "A history of Tesco: The rise of Britain's biggest supermarket". London: Telegraph Media Group Limited. Retrieved 13 February 2009.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.