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Food & Drink 2003
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The information below comes from the UK Activity Report.
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Kerry Group is to create up to 40 new jobs at its Rye Valley frozen meals factory in Fermanagh. 31-Dec-2003 The National Farmers Union has submitted plans to build a new national headquarters for 100 staff at Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire, and employees will relocate from London in 2005. 30-Dec-2003 Parmalat, the Italian food company, has been declared insolvent, casting doubt on the future of many jobs, including 200 at the Loseley Yoghurt factory in Kendal. 30-Dec-2003 Muntons is to shed 30 jobs at the former Scotmalt factory at Kirkliston, near Edinburgh, in order to relocate the manufacture of derivative malt products to Suffolk. 30-Dec-2003 Unilever has confirmed plans to open up to 100 Wall's ice-cream parlours across the country over the next five years. 22-Dec-2003 Hepscott, the water cooler company, is to relocate to a new £0.5m headquarters in Morpeth in February. 19-Dec-2003 RHM is to invest £23m at the Avana Bakeries site in Newport, securing the future of 675 jobs, but the company's Cardiff site will close and 230 staff will be offered employment in Newport. 18-Dec-2003 Rowan Glen Dairy Products has secured a £0.4m grant from the Scottish Executive to expand its yoghurt production plant in Dumfries & Galloway, with the creation of eight jobs. 17-Dec-2003 Erewash Borough Council is to consider plans from Direct Wines and TDG for the £8m expansion of their distribution centre in West Hallam, with the creation of up to 150 jobs. 17-Dec-2003 Stroud District Council has approved outline plans from Kerry Ingredients for the expansion and modernisation of its food factory in Cam. 15-Dec-2003 Napier Brown, the food manufacturer, is planning to raise £9m in a flotation on Aim, combining the three businesses of Napier Brown, Garrett and Sefcol. 15-Dec-2003 Greene King is to expand the capacity of its brewery in Bury St Edmunds by up to 50%, including 16 new fermentation vessels. 10-Dec-2003 Devon Quality Foods has ceased trading with the loss of 22 jobs at its frozen pies and quiches factory in Dawlish. 10-Dec-2003 Cadbury Schweppes has announced plans to shed 300 jobs at its confectionery factory in Birmingham, while 170 jobs will go at its Keynsham factory. 08-Dec-2003 Ginsters is creating 35 new jobs at its Callington factory, due to rising demand for savoury pastry products. 05-Dec-2003 East End Foods has awarded a £2.8m contract to Celsius Projects to extend its warehouse in West Bromwich. 04-Dec-2003 Morrison Bowmore is to shed 20 of the 200 jobs at its Glasgow distillery, due to falling whisky prices. 04-Dec-2003 Richmond Foods is to open two new ice cream production lines at sites in Richmond and Leeds early next year, as part of a three-year £27m capital investment programme. 02-Dec-2003 Horticultural Research International is shed a further 40 jobs at sites in East Malling and Wye. 01-Dec-2003 Young & Co is considering plans to relocate its south London brewery, in order to free up the 5.5-acre Wandsworth site for redevelopment. 28-Nov-2003 Glenfarm Holdings is to close its frozen chip processing factory in Ballymoney, County Antrim, with the loss of 50 jobs. 28-Nov-2003 Grimsby Fish Docks has announced proposals to invest £10m in the creation of a modern fish processing park near the North Wall. 28-Nov-2003 Blavod Black Vodka is in talks to acquire Extreme Beverage Company, the US spirits company, for £5m, and is also planning to raise £8m in a share placing. 27-Nov-2003 The Scottish Agricultural Science Agency is to consider bids from four construction groups early next year for the development of a new £25m headquarters at Gogarbank Farm, near Edinburgh. 27-Nov-2003 Fishwicks is planning to expand its South Shields-based fruit and vegetable wholesaling business across the North, with an increase in the workforce from 70 to 90. 24-Nov-2003 Scottish & Newcastle is considering plans to merge its Waverley wine and spirits business with its recently-acquired Beer Seller drinks wholesaling operation. 24-Nov-2003 Geest has sold its stake in Enzafruit Worldwide, including net assets of £0.7m, to joint venture partner Northcourt. 18-Nov-2003 Perkins Foods is creating 69 jobs at a new £7.5m Fresh-Pak egg preparation and mayonnaise factory in Barnsley, which is due to open in December. 13-Nov-2003 Northern Foods is planning to centralise its procurement operations and dispose of non-core businesses, such as flour milling, distribution and the Irish Batchelors division. 12-Nov-2003 Asda is to close its 31 in-store butchers' counters and switch to centrally packed meat, which will involve the creation of 1,100 jobs at supplier factories in Swansea, Doncaster and Winsford. 10-Nov-2003 Unilever is to review the future of the supply chain for Birds Eye frozen foods, which is likely to affect factories in Hull, Grimsby and Lowestoft. 10-Nov-2003 Soleco is recruiting 50 additional staff for its Florette prepared salads factory near Lichfield. 06-Nov-2003 Unilever Bestfoods is planning to build a £50m national distribution centre at Kingswood Lakeside, Staffordshire, with the creation of up to 300 jobs, and may transfer work from sites in Peterborough, Warrington and Worksop. 06-Nov-2003 Associated British Foods is looking to spend some of its £1.2bn cash pile on acquisitions. 05-Nov-2003 Co-operative Group is to sell off its 2,330 dairy cows and shed up to 48 jobs at farms in Cheshire, Shropshire, Ayrshire and Leicestershire, in order to focus on arable, fruit and vegetable farming. 04-Nov-2003 Lasco, the Jamaican manufacturer of soy products, is to open a factory in Plymouth in February, with the creation of 120 jobs. 30-Oct-2003 Cadbury Schweppes is planning to reduce its 55,000-strong worldwide workforce by 5,500 and close 27 of its 133 factories over the next four years, but declined to give details of where the cuts will take place. 29-Oct-2003 Maxway Foods is to shed 36 jobs at its chicken processing plant in Northumberland. 29-Oct-2003 Hazlewood Foods is creating about 100 jobs at its sandwich factory in Worksop, taking the workforce to over 2,000. 29-Oct-2003 Seagull Foods is to create up to 20 new jobs at its frozen food distribution centre in Warminster, including vacancies in sales, transport, warehousing and administration. 28-Oct-2003 Parkfield Projects has started work on the construction of a new frozen food distribution centre and head office for Maidstone-based KFF Food Services, with completion due in May. 22-Oct-2003 United Dairy Farmers is to set up a £4.5m technical centre of excellence in Northern Ireland, in order to develop new dairy products for international markets using milk supplied by local farmers. 17-Oct-2003 Aberdeen Murray Johnstone Private Equity has invested £2m in Enterprise Food Group, to fund the expansion of its Scottish bakery operations. 17-Oct-2003 Thorntons, the confectionery company, has put itself up for sale, which could lead to a £1.2bn management buy-out. 16-Oct-2003 Grampian Country Foods is seeking permission from Vale Royal Borough Council to rebuild the former Harris Bacon factory in Winsford, which could create up to 400 jobs. 16-Oct-2003 British Cattle Movement Service is to create 90 full-time jobs in Workington to update a new database, but 100 part-time agency jobs are being lost. 16-Oct-2003 United Biscuits is planning a £10m expansion at its biscuit factory in Harlesden, London, with the creation of 200 jobs. 15-Oct-2003 Buckingham Foods has announced plans to cease production at a sandwich factory in Milton Keynes, and some of the 135 staff will be transferred to other sites. 13-Oct-2003 Cadbury Schweppes is to close two confectionery factories in Chesterfield and Manchester by the end of 2004, with the loss of up to 555 jobs. 13-Oct-2003 Burton's Foods is to relocate its main trading, marketing and corporate finance teams from Blackpool to St Albans in January. 13-Oct-2003 Lincolnshire Enterprise has awarded a £0.3m grant to a proposed Food Science Park at the University of Lincoln's Holbeach campus. 08-Oct-2003 Challenger Foods is seeking permission to expand its ready meals factory in Sunderland, with the creation of 40 jobs. 08-Oct-2003 Shetland SeaFish is to close the whitefish freezing operation at its factory in Lerwick, with the loss of an unspecified number of jobs. 07-Oct-2003 Hancocks is planning to expand its chain of 14 confectionery wholesale depots over the next few years, having identified eight suitable sites in the south-east and one in Edinburgh. 06-Oct-2003 Hibernia Foods is investing £3m at its frozen ready meals factory in Hartlepool, with the creation of 100 jobs over the next 12 months. 03-Oct-2003 Unilever Bestfoods has shed 40 jobs at its factory in Needham Market, Suffolk, in order to transfer its dry mix business to a site in Manchester. 01-Oct-2003 Burton's Foods is planning to shed 150 of the 1,400 jobs at its biscuit factory in Wirral, following a fall in demand. 30-Sep-2003 Crouch Vale Brewery is looking into the possibility of relocating its Essex brewery from South Woodham to a larger site. 30-Sep-2003 Two Sisters (2 Sisters Food Group) is building a £7m chicken processing plant in the West Midlands, with the creation of up to 400 jobs. 29-Sep-2003 Scottish & Newcastle is to relocate the Edinburgh headquarters of Scottish Courage and 200 staff to Broadway Park at nearby South Gyle in November. 29-Sep-2003 Whyte & Mackay is to expand its whisky bottling plant in Grangemouth at a cost of £20m, but its plant in Edinburgh will close with the loss of 220 jobs. 26-Sep-2003 Perth & Kinross Council has approved plans for the expansion of Highland Spring's Blackford bottling plant, with the creation of 50 jobs by the end of the year. 24-Sep-2003 Scottish & Newcastle is to relocate its Scottish Courage sales and distribution centre in Bristol to a new £6m site for 180 staff at Cabot Park. 23-Sep-2003 Allied Domecq has launched a £59m takeover bid for Peter Lehmann Wines, the Australian winemaker. 23-Sep-2003 Rachel's Organic is planning a £3m expansion at its dairy products factory in Aberystwyth, with the creation of 50 jobs. 22-Sep-2003 Mission Foods is to create a further 50 jobs at its tortilla chip factory in Coventry. 17-Sep-2003 Glisten is planning to double capital expenditure in its Blackburn-based confectionery business to £0.5m this year. 17-Sep-2003 Dumfries & Galloway Council is considering plans from Dee Fish Scotland for the development of a shellfish farm near Kirkcudbright, which would create 16 jobs. 16-Sep-2003 Interbrew is investing £11m in the development of a new beer bottling facility at its Magor plant near Newport by summer 2004, with the creation of 40 jobs. 15-Sep-2003 Nestle is planning to transfer production of white chocolate products to York with the creation of 100 jobs, but 159 managerial and technical support jobs will be lost in Hayes. 15-Sep-2003 Sygen is looking to spend up to £24m on the expansion of its shrimp business into countries such as Brazil, Ecuador and China, and is seeking acquisitions, joint ventures and licensing deals. 11-Sep-2003 Cantrell & Cochrane has announced a £0.75m expansion by its Belfast-based drinks business Hollywood & Donnelly into the beer market, with the creation of ten jobs. 10-Sep-2003 Shetland Enterprise has approved a £0.5m funding package for Blackwood Distillers for the development of a £3.8m distillery at Catfirth. 09-Sep-2003 Premier Foods has announced plans for the £3m relocation of Branston Pickle production from Derbyshire to Bury St Edmunds, with the creation of 60 new jobs. 09-Sep-2003 Place UK is to invest £0.75m in the expansion of its fruit and vegetable packing business in North Norfolk, with the creation of 20 jobs. 09-Sep-2003 Solanum is considering plans to close its potato packing operation in Yaxley with the loss of 95 jobs. 08-Sep-2003 Apetito is creating 40 new jobs at its frozen meals business in Trowbridge, having won a contract to supply the West Berkshire meals on wheels service. 08-Sep-2003 Campbell's is considering plans to transfer cooking sauce production from King's Lynn to its site in Worksop, with the loss of up to 70 jobs. 05-Sep-2003 Finsbury Food is planning to create about 100 new jobs at its Memory Lane Cakes factory in Cardiff, in order to produce cakes for Nestle. 02-Sep-2003 Scottish Courage is to close the kegging line at its Tyne Brewery in Newcastle with the loss of 26 jobs, although 10 jobs will be created at the Federation Brewery in Gateshead. 25-Aug-2003 ADM Milling is to shed about 20 of the 80 jobs at its flour mill in Tewkesbury, in order to centralise the packing operation at its site in Avonmouth. 22-Aug-2003 Nestle is to shed about 200 management and technical support jobs at its confectionery factory in York over the next 18 months, and a further 40 jobs will go in Halifax and Castleford. 21-Aug-2003 Golden Wonder is to close its own-brand crisps factory in Skelmersdale with the loss of 375 jobs. 14-Aug-2003 Dalziel, the meat ingredients maker, is to relocate its distribution operation and 20 staff to a new site in Hebburn, in order to free up space for 25 additional manufacturing jobs in Gateshead. 07-Aug-2003 Thorntons is seeking permission to build a new distribution centre at its chocolate factory in Somercotes, which could lead to the creation of 260 jobs over the next two years. 07-Aug-2003 Geest is to shed 30 middle management jobs at its Geest Pasta business in North Lincolnshire. 04-Aug-2003 Shepherd Neame, the Kent-based brewery, has acquired a site in Faversham for £1.7m, in order to set up a distribution centre. 04-Aug-2003 Country Style Foods is to take over the recently-closed Heinz pizza plant on Grimsby Docks, and production will re-start early next year with the creation of 200 jobs. 01-Aug-2003 Kyndal is to shed 200 jobs by closing one of its distilleries in either Grangemouth or Leith, and the company will be renamed Whyte & Mackay. 01-Aug-2003 Global Group is to raise £12m from the sale of its meat trading division and will move its share listing to Aim. 30-Jul-2003 Micap is to raise £5m in a flotation on Aim to fund the commercial development of its new technology that uses yeast to protect the active ingredients in a wide range of products. 21-Jul-2003 HP Bulmer, the cider maker, is to shed 125 jobs at its Hereford headquarters and a further 125 from its nationwide network of sales and technical services staff. 17-Jul-2003 NFU Cymru, the National Farmers Union in Wales, is to close its regional offices in Ruthin and Swansea in order to open a new headquarters in Builth Wells by the end of 2004. 17-Jul-2003 Walkers Snack Foods has awarded a £3.5m contract to Grantside of York to build a warehouse in Peterlee. 17-Jul-2003 Horticultural Research International is to merge with Warwick University, with the loss of about 100 jobs at sites in Warwick, Hampshire and Lincolnshire. 16-Jul-2003 Diageo is to shed 35 sales and marketing jobs at its Guinness operation in Northern Ireland, while 100 jobs will be lost in the Irish Republic. 14-Jul-2003 United Biscuits is to create more than 200 jobs at four McVitie's biscuit factories in London, Manchester, Carlisle and Glasgow. 14-Jul-2003 Oakland International is to create 25 new jobs at its ready meals contract packing site in Redditch. 09-Jul-2003 Royal Numico is to close its Nutricia baby food factory in Wells, Somerset, over the next two years, with the loss of 180 jobs. 08-Jul-2003 Burton's Foods has shed 90 seasonal jobs at its biscuit factory in Moreton, Wirral, following a fall in demand. 07-Jul-2003 Kyndal is conducting a review of staffing levels at its whisky bottling operations in Scotland, which employ 250 in Edinburgh and 60 in Grangemouth. 01-Jul-2003 Scottish Agricultural College is considering plans to close campuses in Craibstone, Aberdeen and Auchincruive, Ayr, in order to centralise its education, research and development work in Edinburgh and Midlothian. 27-Jun-2003 Libra Seafood Processing is to create 14 jobs at its new site at the Viking Enterprise Zone in Jarrow this year. 26-Jun-2003 DARD, the Department of Agriculture & Rural Development, has announced a £2.5m EU funding package for the food industry in Northern Ireland, enabling Dale Farm, Wilson's Country, Willowbrook Foods and seven other companies to invest in new facilities. 26-Jun-2003 Weetabix is to announce plans to expand its breakfast cereals plant in Burton Latimer, which currently employs 1,600. 24-Jun-2003 Golden Wonder is to invest £1m at its snack food factory in North Lincolnshire, including new equipment, production processes and staff training. 24-Jun-2003 HP Bulmer, the cider maker that is being acquired by Scottish & Newcastle, has sold its US operations to management for undisclosed terms. 24-Jun-2003 SodaStream is to close its factory in Peterborough in July with the loss of 30 jobs, as parent company Soda-Club plans to move its gas cylinder refilling and refurbishment department to Germany. 19-Jun-2003 Fold Hill Foods is to create 20 new jobs and secure the future of 58 existing jobs having won a £1.2m grant to install new production lines at Old Leake, near Boston. 17-Jun-2003 Baxters is to take over the contract to manufacture the new Weight Watchers' chilled ready meals range, having acquired machinery from the liquidators of previous supplier Smmart. 16-Jun-2003 Dungannon Meats has awarded a £1.8m contract to Thyssen to extend its abattoir at Llanybyther in south Wales. 13-Jun-2003 S&A Foods is planning to shed up to 400 jobs following the loss of a contract to supply Indian ready meals to Safeway. 11-Jun-2003 Morley Research Centre is to merge with Arable Research Centres, with Morley's Wymondham site becoming the arable research headquarters and ARC's Cirencester office managing the membership, accounting and technology transfer operations. 10-Jun-2003 Invest NI is providing financial support for a £3.8m investment at McErlain's Bakery in Magherafelt, which will create 38 jobs over the next three years. 09-Jun-2003 Carmarthenshire County Council is planning to develop a food park on a 50-acre site at Cross Hands near Llanelli, in order to create up to 200 jobs and act as a centre for agricultural produce companies such as Dawn Pac. 05-Jun-2003 Marine Harvest is to close its salmon processing plant at Marybank, Stornoway, in August with the loss of 82 jobs, but a new plant will be built on the mainland, possibly at Mallaig. 02-Jun-2003 Heveco Mushrooms is investing about £1m a year to increase mushroom production, including an expansion of its site in West Sussex and the possibility of acquisitions. 02-Jun-2003 Northern Foods is to centralise its IT and financial administration activities at a new department for 80 staff in Wakefield, but 200 jobs will be shed at operating companies throughout the country. 30-May-2003 Carmarthenshire County Council is to consider plans from Buckley Bros Brands & Brewing for the development of a new brewery, pub and visitor centre in Llandeilo, with the creation of up to 30 jobs. 30-May-2003 Dairy Crest is to close the commodity dairy ingredients operation at its factory in Chard in July, with the loss of about 80 jobs. 29-May-2003 The Welsh Development Agency is in discussions with Oriel Jones about plans to establish a meat packing operation at the former Dairy Crest site in Carmarthen, which could create 300 jobs. 29-May-2003 Yorkshire Forward is supporting plans from the International Food Group to establish a £10m food manufacturing park on a nine-acre site in Bradford. 29-May-2003 The Welsh Development Agency is supporting plans from Coleg Menai to set up a £0.7m food technology centre at its Pencraig campus on Anglesey, which could create 75 jobs. 27-May-2003 Cobra Beer has raised £8.6m to fund the international expansion of its Indian-style lager, and is targeting India, South Africa and the US. 27-May-2003 United Biscuits is to shed up to 40 management and support jobs at its KP snacks factory in Billingham. 21-May-2003 Invest NI is supporting plans by McColgan's Quality Foods to invest £6m in the expansion of its frozen and chilled foods factory in Strabane, with the creation of 30 jobs by the end of 2004. 21-May-2003 Deloitte & Touche has been appointed provisional liquidator at Smmart, the Aberdeen-based sausage and ready-meals manufacturer, putting 55 jobs at risk. 21-May-2003 Unitrition is to shed 40 jobs at its oilseed processing plant in Selby over the next few months. 16-May-2003 Unilever has sold its edible oils refinery in Purfleet, Essex, to Archer Daniels Midland of the US for undisclosed terms, involving the transfer of 140 staff. 16-May-2003 Angus Dundee Distillers is planning to reopen the Glencadam Distillery in Brechin, with the creation of up to 50 jobs. 13-May-2003 Hygrade Foods is planning to sell its meat operations to Danish Crown's UK subsidiary Tulip, which could affect factories in Chippenham, Corsham and Devizes. 12-May-2003 Northern Foods is investing £2m in a new oven for its Pork Farm Bowyers factory in Trowbridge, in order to increase pie production by 25%. 12-May-2003 Scottish & Newcastle is to shed 21 of the 310 jobs at its Scottish Courage brewery in Tadcaster. 12-May-2003 The Soil Association is seeking a suitable site to build a new headquarters in Bristol, which will involve the relocation of about 140 staff from its current site in Victoria Street. 09-May-2003 Advantage West Midlands has identified a 26-acre site at the Battlefield Enterprise Park in Shrewsbury as a potential site for a centre of excellence for the food and drink industry. 08-May-2003 Allied Domecq is planning to spend £22m revamping its Scottish facilities over the next 18 months, including a new bottling line at its Dumbarton plant and the rebuilding of its Glenburgie distillery near Forres. 06-May-2003 Fenland District Council is considering plans from Garden Isle Frozen Foods for the development of a new processing plant at its site in Wisbech. 01-May-2003 East End Foods is to build a new rice mill at its site in West Bromwich this year, with the creation of 150 jobs. 01-May-2003 Wolverhampton & Dudley is to spend £1.7m replacing brewing and refrigeration equipment at the Marston's Brewery in Burton, subject to planning consent. 28-Apr-2003 Unilever is seeking a 125,000 sq ft temporary head office site in London, in preparation for the refurbishment of its existing site on Victoria Embankment. 28-Apr-2003 AstraZeneca is in discussions with Montagu Private Equity about a possible management buy-out of Marlow Foods, the North Yorkshire-based manufacturer of Quorn substitute meat products. 25-Apr-2003 Aylesbury Mushrooms has closed its mushroom farm near Witney with the loss of 80 jobs, due to the effect of cheap imports. 25-Apr-2003 Tamar Foods is to create 120 new jobs at its factory in Callington, having won a contract to supply savoury pasties to an unnamed supermarket chain. 24-Apr-2003 Rachel's Organic is looking to launch its yoghurt and dairy products in France and Ireland, while it continues to expand its Aberystwyth production facility and 88-strong workforce. 22-Apr-2003 Fred C Robinson is shedding about 18 jobs at its pork processing plant in Newtownabbey. 22-Apr-2003 Dawnfresh Seafoods is investing £1m in the expansion of its plant in Lanarkshire, including a new dry goods store and a chilled storage area. 22-Apr-2003 Camerons is to shed 19 jobs at its brewery in Hartlepool, having lost a distribution contract with its former owner. 18-Apr-2003 Glanbia Cheese is investing £12m at its pizza cheese manufacturing plant in Magheralin, Northern Ireland, with the creation of 16 jobs. 18-Apr-2003 Associated British Foods is seeking further acquisitions in the beverages sector, following the recent purchase of Ovaltine. 17-Apr-2003 Diageo and Heineken are to jointly acquire a stake in Namibia Breweries in a £20m deal, in order to gain a foothold in southern Africa. 16-Apr-2003 Diageo is to shed about 200 temporary jobs at the Johnnie Walker’s whisky plant in Kilmarnock, due to a downturn in some foreign markets. 16-Apr-2003 Scottish & Newcastle is in talks to acquire the remaining 51% of Central de Cervejas, the Portuguese beer company, for about £100m. 15-Apr-2003 Pinguin Foods is to shed up to 50 of the 250 jobs at its frozen peas processing plant in King's Lynn. 10-Apr-2003 Preston Abattoir has ceased trading with the loss of 20 Preston-based jobs, and is now expected to go into liquidation. 10-Apr-2003 Castle MacLellan is to invest £1.9m in new equipment for its pate factory in Kirkcudbright over the next two years, and the 52-strong workforce is expected to increase. 08-Apr-2003 Hibernia Foods is to close its cakes and ready meals factory at Kingswood, Bristol, in the summer with the loss of 250 jobs. 02-Apr-2003 Glanbia is planning to close its meat processing plant in Drongan, East Ayrshire, in the summer, with the loss of 120 jobs. 01-Apr-2003 The Welsh Development Agency has launched the £3m AqWa project to expand the fish farming sector in Wales, and 80 jobs will be created through the development of up to 50 farm-based production systems. 31-Mar-2003 Union Snack is planning to expand the 58-strong workforce at its pretzel factory in County Durham, due to rising demand for UK retailers. 26-Mar-2003 McLelland Cheese has announced plans to build a £13m packing centre in Stranraer, with the creation of 44 jobs. 26-Mar-2003 3663 (Three Double Six Three) is to set up a 75,000 sq ft cold storage and food distribution centre at Langley Mill near Nottingham in September. 26-Mar-2003 Robert Wiseman is investing a further £7m at its Droitwich dairy, having won a number of new milk supply contracts. 24-Mar-2003 Tulip is shedding 165 of the 713 jobs at its bacon processing factory in Thetford. 21-Mar-2003 HP Bulmer, the cider maker, is to raise £6m from the sale of land at one of its Hereford factories to a housebuilder, and the money will be used to reduce debt. 20-Mar-2003 Heinz is planning to close a pizza factory in Grimsby with the loss of 405 jobs. 19-Mar-2003 Kingswinford Jobcentre is assisting Simply Delish establish a new catering business in Kingswinford, with the creation of up to 30 jobs for Italian, Chinese and Indian chefs. 17-Mar-2003 Donatantonio, the importer of Mediterranean food ingredients, has been put up for sale. 17-Mar-2003 Lark Valley Foods has completed a £3m extension at its bacon packing factory in Bury St Edmunds, with the creation of more than 100 jobs. 14-Mar-2003 Compass is planning to shed 93 management and administration jobs, following a review of the divisional structure in its contract catering business. 14-Mar-2003 Express Dairies is to close its milk depot in Ellesmere Port depot and transfer some workers to its Blacon and Neston sites. 14-Mar-2003 Ebac is creating 50 new jobs at its factory in Bishop Auckland, to cope with rising demand for its water coolers from schools across the country. 12-Mar-2003 Waveney District Council has approved plans for a £5m expansion at the Buxted chicken processing plant in Flixton, securing the future of 600 jobs. 10-Mar-2003 Stonegate Farmers is to shed 40 jobs at its egg-packing operation near Liskeard, in order to relocate the business to Chippenham and Wolverhampton. 10-Mar-2003 JN Nichols is to close its Vimto soft drinks factory near Manchester with the loss of 60 jobs, and its packing operation at Stockport will also close with the loss of 130 jobs. 07-Mar-2003 Unilever has announced plans for a £96m investment in ice-cream marketing and development over the next three years, including the opening of 1,000 kiosks on beaches and in shopping centres throughout the world. 07-Mar-2003 Glanbia is seeking acquisitions to expand its food manufacturing business, and is particularly interested in areas such as nutritional ingredients. 06-Mar-2003 ChocExpress is creating 40 new jobs at its chocolate delivery business in Royston. 05-Mar-2003 Scrabster Seafoods has secured £0.3m from Caithness & Sutherland Enterprise to build a £1m fish grading and packaging factory at Scrabster Harbour, with the creation of 14 jobs. 27-Feb-2003 Brakes is to close its ready meals factory at Lenham near Maidstone in May with the loss of up to 60 jobs, in order to transfer production to sites in North Wales and Devon. 19-Feb-2003 Macrae Food Group is to close its fish processing factory in Peterhead and hopes to relocate most of the 110 staff to its site in Fraserburgh. 19-Feb-2003 Unilever has announced a £239m deal to take control of its south-east Asian processed foods joint venture with Ajinomoto of Japan, which includes six factories and almost 1,900 staff. 19-Feb-2003 Associated British Foods is said to be planning to launch an estimated £300m takeover bid for Aviagen, the chicken breeding business owned by BC Partners. 17-Feb-2003 Interbrew is to close its call centre at the Boddingtons brewery in Manchester with the loss of 30 jobs, in order to transfer the work to sites in Gloucester, Sheffield and Glasgow. 11-Feb-2003 Parmalat Dairies is to close its yoghurt production plant at Mildenhall, Suffolk, with the loss of up to 150 jobs, in order to relocate production to Kendal and administration to the Egham head office. 06-Feb-2003 United Biscuits is to close its biscuit factory in Ashby de la Zouch next year with the loss of 900 jobs, although 500 jobs will be created with the transfer of production to its 13 other sites. 05-Feb-2003 Nestle is to shed about 36 of the 148 jobs at the Purina pet foods factory in Worksop. 03-Feb-2003 Nestle is to shed up to 40 of the 700 jobs at its sweet confectionery factory in Newcastle upon Tyne. 31-Jan-2003 Lay & Wheeler, the wine company, is to relocate its headquarters from Colchester to Holton St Mary in Suffolk, and a new 200,000 sq ft distribution centre will open in Burton on Trent in March. 31-Jan-2003 S&A Foods has resumed its search for a suitable site in Staffordshire to build a ready meals factory. 29-Jan-2003 JSR Farming Group is to shed 39 of the 260 jobs in its East Yorkshire-based farming business. 28-Jan-2003 HP Bulmer is considering the possibility of launching a rescue rights issue or putting the business up for sale, following a deterioration in the cider market. 27-Jan-2003 North East Lincolnshire Council is helping Roberts Food set up a Yorkshire puddings factory at the former Seagull fish plant in Grimsby with the creation of 70 jobs, following a recent fire at its site in Leeds. 23-Jan-2003 Adnams has started work on a £2.5m expansion at its brewery in Suffolk, including the installation of new liquor tanks and fermentation vessels. 15-Jan-2003 AB Produce has started work on the development of a £3.7m food processing plant at the Westminster Industrial Estate in Measham, which will prepare vegetables for catering outlets. 15-Jan-2003 Lichfield District Council is considering plans from Ashcroft Farm in Shenstone for the construction of a new 50-metre vegetable packaging and processing unit. 13-Jan-2003 Grimsby Institute of Food & Fisheries is looking to establish a National Seafood Institute in Grimsby, in order to provide training and research facilities. 13-Jan-2003 Faccenda is to close its chicken products factory in Corby in April with the loss of 360 jobs. 09-Jan-2003 Pfizer Adams is to shed 130 of the 450 jobs at its cough sweets factory in Manchester, in order to transfer some production to Canada. 09-Jan-2003 Kallo Foods is to acquire the Whole Earth and Gusto herbal soft drink brands from Whole Earth Foods, and Whole Earth will change its name to Green & Black's and focus on organic chocolate and ice cream. 06-Jan-2003 The information below comes from the UK Activity Report. 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