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Booker Group

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Booker Group Limited
Formerly
  • Blueheath Holdings Limited (June–July 2004)
  • Blueheath Holdings plc (2004–2007)
  • Booker Group plc (2007–2018)[1]
Company type
IndustryRetail catering
Founded1835; 189 years ago (1835)
HeadquartersWellingborough, England
Key people
  • Stewart Gilliland (Chairman)
  • Andrew Yaxley (CEO)
ProductsCash and carry outlets
ParentTesco
Websitebooker.co.uk

Booker Group Limited is a British wholesale distributor, and subsidiary of Tesco.[2]

In January 2017, it was announced that the British multinational supermarket retailer Tesco had agreed to purchase the company for £3.7 billion. It was confirmed on 5 March 2018 that Tesco had completed its acquisition of Booker Group Limited.[3]

History

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Origins

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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.[4] 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.[5]

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 (outright slavery was abolished in British Guiana before Booker's founding, but exploitative labour practices continued. All of the Booker brothers had claimed and received 'compensation' payments for their post 1815 Guiana slave holdings - see U.C.L. "Legacies of British Slave-ownership" index). 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".[6][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

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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.[2] 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 May 2000, Booker was purchased by Iceland Supermarkets, via its Big Food Group vehicle.[15] Then, in December 2004, 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 September 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 thirty stores of Makro in the United Kingdom 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 5 March 2018 that Tesco had completed its merger with Booker.[26]

Criticism

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Booker have been accused of forcing the closure of local businesses and shops through undercutting their prices in Tesco stores, the group's owner, while providing higher prices in their wholesale arm.[27] Additionally, it has been accused of intentionally stopping deliveries of certain essential products to independent stores, in some cases reducing item selection by up to 30%.[28]

Operations

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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.[29] The industry journal The Grocer named Booker the "Green Wholesaler of the Year" at the Grocer Gold Awards.[30]

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

Subsidiaries of Booker Group Limited (Tesco plc)
Name Founded Description
Booker Wholesale Holdings Limited A cash and carry and delivery company in the United Kingdom.[30]
Makro Self Service Wholesalers Limited A cash and carry and delivery company in the United Kingdom.[30]
Booker Direct Limited A wholesale business catering for cinemas and HM Prison Service in the United Kingdom.[30]
Classic Drinks Limited A wholesale business in the United Kingdom.[30]
Ritter-Courivaud Limited A wholesale business catering for restaurants in the United Kingdom.[31]
Premier Stores Limited 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.[32]
Booker India [33]
Booker Retail Partners (GB) Limited [34]

Booker Authors' Division

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Main pages: Category:Booker authors' division and Booker Prize

The company also founded, and was previously a sponsor of, the Booker Prize for literary fiction, which was established in 1968.[35] During Lord Campbell of Eskan's tenure as chairman of the company, then known as Booker–McConnell, he was also instrumental in the setting up of the Booker's Authors' Division. Lord Campbell of Eskan 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,[36] which also acquired rights to some well known authors' works, such as Georgette Heyer, whose company, Heron Enterprises, with eighteen of her copyrights, Booker bought in 1966 for £80,000, Dennis Wheatley,[36] and the 64% stake in Agatha Christie's works not controlled by her family.[37] When, in 1968, Booker established the prestigious Booker Prize, it was with the money from the Fleming, Heyer and Christie purchases.

In June 1998, Agatha Christie's stakeholding was sold to Chorion for £10 million,[37] who themselves sold it on in February 2012 to Acorn Media UK.[38] The division also co founded and sponsored the prestigious Booker–McConnell Prize for literature in 1968, now known as Booker Prize. 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 Authors' Division have included Charles William Tyrrell (1960s–1970s), Dennis H. Joss (1970s–1980s) and Agatha Christie's grandson Mathew Caradoc Thomas Prichard (1990s–2000s).[39]

See also

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

References

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  1. ^ "BOOKER GROUP LIMITED overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". Companies House. 4 June 2004. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Booker Cash & Carry Ltd. History". International Directory of Company Histories, Vol.68. St. James Press, 2005. Funding Universe. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  3. ^ "Tesco completes £4 billion acquisition of Booker". The Telegraph. 5 March 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  4. ^ "Booker Line 1835 – 1978, Page 2" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 November 2008. Retrieved 21 December 2009.
  5. ^ Booker Line 1835 – 1978, Page16
  6. ^ "The Bookers Empire". guyana.org. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  7. ^ N. Draper, ‘Helping to make Britain great: the commercial legacies of slave-ownership in Britain’, in C. Hall, N. Draper, K. McClelland, K. Donington, and R. Lang, Legacies of British Slave-Ownership: Colonial Slavery and the Formation of Victorian Britain (2014), pp.78-126.
  8. ^ a b Parker, Peter (4 January 1995). "OBITUARIES: Lord Campbell of Eskan". The Independent. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  9. ^ a b "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)". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2015. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  13. ^ "Booker PLC". IMDb. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
  14. ^ "Happy Shopper Brand Redesign". Partners In Communication. 12 May 2009. Archived from the original on 14 January 2010. Retrieved 12 May 2009.
  15. ^ "Iceland in £373m Booker takeover". BBC. 19 December 2004. 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.[dead link‍]
  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. Archived from the original on 15 July 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2010.
  21. ^ "Hamleys investor seeks protection". BBC News. 4 February 2009. Retrieved 4 February 2009.
  22. ^ Mookerji, Nivedita (7 March 2012). "UK's cash & carry plans 20 India stores in 5 years". Business Standard. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
  23. ^ A report on the completed acquisition by Booker Group PLC of Makro Holding Limited[usurped]
  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. 27 January 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  26. ^ Cahill, Helen (5 March 2018). "Done deal: Tesco completes £3.7bn merger with Booker Group". Archived from the original on 5 March 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  27. ^ Butler, Sarah (22 April 2024). "Tesco accused of undercutting local shops via its wholesale business". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  28. ^ Butler, Sarah (22 March 2024). "Tesco accused of using cash and carry to 'squeeze' village stores out of business". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  29. ^ "What We Do". Booker Group. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  30. ^ a b c d e "Business Overview". Booker. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  31. ^ "Booker acquires Ritter for £14.5m". The Financial Times Ltd. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  32. ^ "Premier Stores package". Archived from the original on 7 April 2015. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  33. ^ "About Booker India". Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  34. ^ "Joining forces to help independent retailers" (PDF). Bookers. 21 May 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
  35. ^ "Broker Group PLC". ft.com. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
  36. ^ a b Griswold, John (2006). Ian Fleming's James Bond: Annotations and Chronologies for Ian Fleming's. AuthorHouse. p. 371. ISBN 9781425931001. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  37. ^ a b "Chorion grabs the Booker prize". BBC News. 3 June 1998.
  38. ^ "Agatha Christie Estate Acquired By U.S.-Based Acorn Media". Penske Business Media, LLC. 29 February 2012. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  39. ^ Jane's Major Companies of Europe. Jane's Information Group.
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