L&F Jones

L&F Jones Holdings Ltd
Private company
Industry Wholesale, Retail
Founded 1911
Headquarters Westfield, Somerset
Key people
 Richard Jones, Simon Jones
Products Groceries
Number of employees
 292 (as at 2010)[1]
Subsidiaries Jones Convenience Stores
Best Western PLUS Centurion Hotel
Website http://www.lfjones.co.uk

L&F Jones Holdings Ltd is a company based in Westfield, Somerset, England, that includes a chain of convenience shops, a wholesale food business, and a Best Western PLUS hotel. The retail chain consists of twelve shops in Somerset, Wiltshire, Dorset, South Gloucestershire, and Bristol.

History

Company headquarters in Westfield, Somerset

Catherine Lucy Jones founded the company in Stratton-on-the-Fosse in 1911 and started trading as L & F Jones, named after her two daughters Leona and Frances.[2]

In 1929, the shop was replaced by a larger premises, which included a function room for catering dinners and wedding receptions. In 1936, the management was taken over by her eldest son, Basil Leo Jones. Four of Basil’s six sons (Laurence, Christopher, Peter, and Richard) joined the business in the 1960s. Each brother managed a local shop, located at Stratton-on-the-Fosse, Peasedown St John, Paulton, and Trowbridge.[2]

The premises at Stratton-on-the-Fosse became the first wholesale cash and carry in the area. The business moved to premises in Radstock. The four shops were sold to enable the brothers to concentrate on growing the cash and carry business. As the business expanded a catering depot was purchased in Shepton Mallet in 1977.[2]

In 1973, the company joined Landmark Wholesale, a consortium of independent wholesalers, and are one of the group's oldest members.[3] In 1983, the cash and carry relocated from Radstock to its present site in Westfield. This has developed into Jones Food Services, a catering food service business.[2]

By 2010, the company had 16 shops within thirty miles of the head office at Westfield.[2] In 2011, L&F Jones celebrated its 100th year, with current and former workers joining a celebration at the Assembly Rooms in Bath to mark the milestone. Among the four hundred people attending was Dorene James, who started working in 1939, aged 14, at Stratton alongside Mrs Jones.[4]

In August 2011, the company reported a £51,713 loss against a pre tax profit of £90,481 the year before, claiming performance had been "strong" given the "difficult trading conditions".[5]

By January 2016, the chain had reduced to a total of twelve shops.[6]

Jones Food Services

A Jones convenience shop in Westfield, Somerset

The company’s wholesale/catering foodservice business operates from the depot located at its HQ in Westfield, serving customers predominantly in Somerset and Wiltshire.[7]

Jones Convenience Shops

In December 2008, the company closed down its Jones convenience shop in Peasedown St John, blaming competition from the recent opening of a Tesco Express shop in the village.[8]

Best Western PLUS Centurion Hotel

The Best Western PLUS Centurion Hotel near Westfield, Somerset

L&F Jones owns the Best Western PLUS Centurion Hotel near Westfield, Somerset (formerly the Fosseway Country Club) with a nine hole golf course. L&F Jones bought it in 1978. The Centurion Hotel was built on the site and opened in April 1987 with 17 rooms. This was enlarged to 44 rooms, a new reception area, and lounge in April 1991. A health centre and gym were added in 2000.[9]

In May 2002, the Centurion was host to the World Professional Billiards Championship.[10][11]

The health centre and gym rebranded in 2011, as the Centurion Health Club. The health club also won silver in both the 2011 and 2012 Health Club Awards, voted as the second best gym in the South West.[12]

Other interests

In July 2010, L&F Jones acquired Radstock's local butchery 'Paul Loader' and claimed it will improve their offering for the local community and beyond.[13]

In June 2011, L&F Jones created '5th Avenue Coffee', an American style coffee shop in Trowbridge. The name was chosen to reflect the company's historical involvement with Fifth Avenue, New York (Basil Jones was an artist who created stained glass for the windows of St. Patrick’s Cathedral).[14]

L&F Jones had a target to raise £40,000 before the end of 2011, for Kidney Research UK.[15]

References

  1. ↑ Worksmart Company details
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Jones Convenience Stores: About us Archived 1 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine.
  3. ↑ Landmark Wholesale
  4. ↑ Family firm toasts its centenary year This is Somerset, 6 August 2011
  5. ↑ Tough trading pushes L&F Jones into red The Grocer, 27 August 2011
  6. ↑ "Home page". Jones Convenience Stores. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  7. ↑ Welcome to L&F Jones Foodservices Archived 5 November 2011 at the Wayback Machine.
  8. ↑ Tesco blamed for closure of shop This is Somerset, 10 December 2008
  9. ↑ The Cafe at Stratton on The Fosse Archived 1 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine.
  10. ↑ Sethi, Geet (18 May 2002). "Advantage Nalin Patel". The Hindu. Retrieved 30 January 2010.
  11. ↑ "Russell crowns himself with glory". Potting it right -- Geet Sethi Column. Sportstar. 22 June 2002. Retrieved 30 January 2010.
  12. ↑ Health club wins silver in vote by UK gym users Somerset Guardian, 6 October 2011
  13. ↑ Butcher will add value This is Somerset, 29 July 2010
  14. ↑ Trowbridge manager Gavin takes the Fifth Wiltshire Times, 18 June 2011
  15. ↑ Hard work for fun night helps charity This is Somerset, 1 September 2011
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