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Food & Drink 2002
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The information below comes from the UK Activity Report.
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Lunar has bought the Macrae Foods factory in Peterhead in order to process mackerel from its own fishing boats, and the 72-strong workforce will be retained. 24-Dec-2002 Del Monte is to shed 300 of the 555 jobs at its chilled salad factory in Methwold, Norfolk, following the loss of a major contract. 19-Dec-2002 South Gloucestershire Council is to consider plans from the Cotswold Spring Natural Mineral Water to rebuild its bottling plant at Codrington. 17-Dec-2002 Unilever is to shed 70 jobs at its Bird's Eye Walls frozen foods factory in Lowestoft. 16-Dec-2002 Beacon Foods is planning to create a further 60 jobs by 2004, following a recent £1.6m investment in food processing facilities. 16-Dec-2002 Tate & Lyle has raised £5m from the sale of Well Pure, the holder of majority interests in two sugar factories in Guangxi province, to a group of private Chinese investors. 13-Dec-2002 Eldridge Pope has raised £8.9m from the sale of its 11-acre Dorchester headquarters and the remaining minority stake in its former brewing business, in order to focus on pubs. 12-Dec-2002 S&A Foods is seeking permission for a £1.5m extension at one of its ready meals factories in Derby. 05-Dec-2002 Loch Fyne Oysters has been put up for sale with a valuation of between £5m and £10m. 04-Dec-2002 Kennelpak is planning to relocate its pet foods business from Castle Donington to a larger site at nearby Stapleford, with the creation of 20 new jobs. 03-Dec-2002 Nestle is to invest £2.5m at its milk processing plant near Carlisle, but 24 jobs will be lost when production of condensed milk is transferred elsewhere. 02-Dec-2002 Carlsberg-Tetley has offered voluntary redundancy to many of the 500 staff at its brewery in Northampton, in order to improve efficiency. 02-Dec-2002 The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs is considering plans to close Smithfield meat market and Billingsgate fish market and replace them with large food depots on the outskirts of London. 02-Dec-2002 Rich Products of the US is planning to expand its cookie and baked goods business in the UK, having just opened a new 20,000 sq ft factory in Kidderminster. 02-Dec-2002 Kraft Foods is to shed 40 of the 375 jobs at its Terry's confectionery plant in York, due to a fall in Chocolate Orange exports to the US. 29-Nov-2002 SeaChill is planning a £2m expansion at its fish processing business in Grimsby, with the creation of 50 jobs. 29-Nov-2002 Nestle is to close its canned milk products factory in Ashbourne next June, with the loss of 117 jobs. 29-Nov-2002 Western Isles Enterprise is to provide funding for the £0.7m expansion of the Hebridean Smokehouse fish processing plant on North Uist. 28-Nov-2002 Golden Wonder is to shed 150 jobs at its snacks factory in Corby next February, in order to improve efficiency at the site. 25-Nov-2002 Pritchitt Foods, the dairy-based food manufacturer with 250 staff at its factory in Newtownards, has been put up for sale. 25-Nov-2002 Samworth Brothers is to start recruiting hundreds of staff for a new salad-making plant due to open in Kirby Muxloe, Leicestershire, in April. 25-Nov-2002 Robert Wiseman is to open milk depots in Durham and Somerset in 2003 and 2004 respectively, and is still seeking a suitable site for a distribution centre near London. 25-Nov-2002 Coors has announced plans to invest £35m at its brewery in Burton, with the creation of more than 100 jobs. 19-Nov-2002 Bako is investing £1m in a new freezer warehouse for its bakery and food distribution business in Preston. 18-Nov-2002 Premier Brands is to shed 100 jobs at its Typhoo tea factory in the Wirral due to a fall in demand. 13-Nov-2002 Fletchers Fine Food, the Hull-based bakery with nine shops, has gone into voluntary liquidation with the loss of 160 jobs. 12-Nov-2002 GBL International is considering plans to set up a vodka products plant at Clay Cross in Derbyshire with the creation of 120 jobs, but the project may be thwarted by high excise duties. 11-Nov-2002 Associated British Foods is looking to make further acquisitions, and could spend up to £1bn. 06-Nov-2002 Midland Meat Packers has announced plans to restructure its meat supply business in Crick, putting more than 300 jobs at risk. 06-Nov-2002 Faccenda is planning to shed about 175 of the 350 jobs at its chicken products factory in Corby, in order to transfer some production to other sites. 04-Nov-2002 Hazlewood Foods is to shed up to 20 jobs at its sandwich factory in Worksop by the end of the year. 04-Nov-2002 Balfour Beatty has won a £16m contract to build a whisky bottling plant in Livingston for the Glen Turner subsidiary of Lamartin Aquaise. 31-Oct-2002 Northern Foods is creating up to 150 new jobs at its Palethorpes meat products factory in Market Drayton. 22-Oct-2002 Federation Brewery is planning to shed about 30 jobs at its brewery in Gateshead and distribution sites around the country. 22-Oct-2002 Hebrides Harvest is forming a joint venture with Coln Valley Smokery to produce a new range of smoked salmon products for wholesale and retail markets in Europe. 21-Oct-2002 Leading the Ornamental Challenge has secured a £0.5m grant from the government's Department of Rural Affairs to improve Lincolnshire's horticultural industry, which is expected to lead to the creation of 200 jobs. 16-Oct-2002 OP Chocolates has secured a £1.2m grant from the Welsh Development Agency to expand its marshmallow confectionery factory in Merthyr. 15-Oct-2002 Unilever has agreed a £8m deal with Merchants to outsource the customer contact centre for Bestfoods, Birds Eye Walls and Lever Faberge, using a new centre in Milton Keynes. 14-Oct-2002 Ken Bell International is planning to expand its shellfish processing plant in Newcastle with the creation of 120 jobs, and its headquarters will relocate from Jesmond to the production site in Longbenton next March. 11-Oct-2002 Scottish & Newcastle is planning to build a new bottling plant at the John Smith's Brewery in Tadcaster, with the creation of up to 64 jobs. 04-Oct-2002 S Daniels, the soups and juices company, has received a takeover approach from an unnamed company. 03-Oct-2002 Perkins Frozen Foods is planning to close its North Country Foods pizza factory in Workington, with the loss of 60 jobs. 02-Oct-2002 Unilever is to invest up to £107m in the creation of new venture funds to improve the way new product ideas are developed, and is particularly interested in the health sector and ideas that free up time at home. 01-Oct-2002 Diageo is to create 93 jobs at a new £41m drinks plant in Mallusk, Belfast, from July 2003, which will bottle Baileys Original Irish Cream Liqueur. 01-Oct-2002 Mid Suffolk District Council is to consider plans from Peter's Ice Cream for the relocation of its ice cream factory from Ipswich to the Lion Barn industrial estate in Needham Market. 01-Oct-2002 Tillery Valley Foods is to invest £5m in new production, storage and office facilities at its ready meals factory in Blaenau Gwent, with the creation of 100 jobs. 30-Sep-2002 Unilever is to shed 320 of the 773 jobs at its Birds Eye Wall's ice cream factory in Gloucester. 27-Sep-2002 Maud's Ice Cream is investing £1m and creating 20 jobs at its new factory in Carrickfergus. 24-Sep-2002 Warburtons is to open a 130,000 sq ft bakery in Enfield, with the creation of about 300 jobs. 19-Sep-2002 Traidcraft, the international fair trade company that sells food and crafts from the Third World, is to raise up to £3.2m in a share offer, in order to invest more in its suppliers and upgrade its Gateshead headquarters. 19-Sep-2002 Lancashire Dairies is in talks with financial advisers in an attempt to secure the future of the Manchester-based milk business and save 450 jobs. 18-Sep-2002 Cadbury Schweppes is to buy the remaining 72% of Apollinaris Schweppes, the German soft drinks company, from Brau und Brunnen for £97m. 18-Sep-2002 Maldon Crystal Salt Company is to relocate its Maldon-based salt processing business to a more productive site further down the River Blackwater. 17-Sep-2002 Eismann is planning to double its 100-strong fleet of frozen food home delivery trucks and expand into the Midlands and northern England over the next three years, using funding from parent company Nestle. 16-Sep-2002 Blueheath has raised £6.5m to expand its online wholesaling business, and the funds will be used to double its sales force and develop new warehouse facilities. 16-Sep-2002 Cobra Beer has secured a £2.5m funding package from Bank of Scotland to increase beer sales to pubs and clubs, and is planning a flotation on Aim. 09-Sep-2002 Scottish Enterprise has announced plans to set up a £5m food technology company at the Hannah Research Park in Ayr next year, under the name of FFAST Solutions. 04-Sep-2002 Carmarthenshire County Council has approved plans from Port Talbot-based Dragon Baits for the development of a £4.5m fishing bait farm at Little Burrows near Pendine, which will create 127 jobs over the next three years. 03-Sep-2002 The McIntosh of Dyce bakery in Aberdeen has shed 70 jobs following its recent acquisition by Lanarkshire-based bakers Bell. 27-Aug-2002 Hotcan has secured £2.5m from the sale of a 60% equity stake, and the proceeds will be used for the commercial development of meals in self-heating cans. 26-Aug-2002 Genus, the cattle breeding company, is to relocate its head office from Crewe to Basingstoke, and some functions will be decentralised to its three operating divisions. 23-Aug-2002 St Merryn Meat is to close its Probus abattoir in Cornwall with the loss of about 100 jobs, due to a shortage of livestock. 23-Aug-2002 Youngs Bluecrest is recruiting a further 40 staff at its Scottish scampi processing plant in Annan, as part of a £2m investment at the site. 21-Aug-2002 Cantrell & Cochrane has dropped plans to rebuild a fire-hit soft drinks bottling plant in Castlereagh Road, Belfast, which could lead to the loss of 55 jobs, and the site will now be used as a distribution centre. 20-Aug-2002 Sealord is planning to add two new production lines at its fish processing factory in Caistor, with the creation of 12 jobs. 20-Aug-2002 Farne Salmon & Trout is planning to create more than 100 jobs at its Duns-based smoked salmon business, following the introduction of new products and a £0.8m investment in new technology. 19-Aug-2002 Soleco is planning to double the size of its Florette prepared salads factory in Lichfield over the next 12 months. 19-Aug-2002 Scotprime Seafoods is to close its seafoods factory in Sunderland next month, with the loss of 40 jobs. 13-Aug-2002 Dairy Crest has awarded a contract to Nampak to expand its polybottle manufacturing plant at Chadwell Heath and to build a new bottling plant at its Severnside site. 12-Aug-2002 Arkady Craigmillar is relocating its confectionery mixes factory from Suffolk to Manchester. 12-Aug-2002 Uniq is planning to close its St Ivel yoghurt factory in Wootton Bassett at the end of the year with the loss of 192 jobs, while the remainder of its Shape yoghurt business is being sold to Danone of France for £32m. 09-Aug-2002 The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs has awarded a £29m contract to Kier to build a new headquarters in Whitehall, London. 08-Aug-2002 Fyffes is to acquire 70% of Hortim International, the Czech distributor of fresh produce, for an initial £6m. 07-Aug-2002 Mountstevens is to cease trading with the loss of 800 jobs at its Bristol head office and bakery shops throughout the south-west. 26-Jul-2002 KK Wholefoods is to relocate its food processing factory from Flint to a new site at the Deeside Industrial Park in October, and expects to double the workforce to 100 within five years. 25-Jul-2002 Brakspear has confirmed plans to close its brewery in Henley-on-Thames with the loss of 35 jobs, and Refresh UK will take on the responsibility for its beer brands. 23-Jul-2002 Cumbrian Seafoods is creating 70 new jobs at its seafood operations in Cumbria, including 40 at a third factory unit on the Solway Industrial Estate in Maryport and 30 at its main plant. 15-Jul-2002 Samworth Brothers has started work on the development of a £20m sandwich factory on a 20-acre site off the M1 near Leicester, and up to 400 jobs will be created from February next year. 15-Jul-2002 Hazlewood Foods is investing £13m at its ready meals factory in Warrington, and a further £6m will be invested at its Wisbech site to double capacity and create 200 jobs. 15-Jul-2002 New Zealand Milk has confirmed plans to close its 12-acre Anchor Butter headquarters in Swindon, in order to consolidate manufacturing operations in Denmark following its recent merger with Arla Foods. 15-Jul-2002 Frigoscandia is considering plans to shed up to 85 of the 160 jobs at its cold storage and distribution depot in King's Lynn. 12-Jul-2002 Grampian Country Foods has received a £55m equity investment from Bank of Scotland, and some of the funding may be used for the overseas expansion of its poultry processing operations. 12-Jul-2002 The National Assembly for Wales has announced a £3.6m European grant for Selonda UK to develop a £19m halibut farm in a disused Anglesey quarry, including on-site fish processing plant, commercial-scale marine hatchery and the creation of 55 jobs. 09-Jul-2002 Midland Meat Packers is to shed 100 jobs at its abattoir near Rugby next month, and other staff are expected to be relocated to other sites. 09-Jul-2002 HP Bulmer, the cider company, has announced plans to shed 100 jobs in the UK, withdraw from South Africa and Australia and cut back its US operations. 09-Jul-2002 Bure Valley Foods is planning a £1m expansion at its meat and poultry products plant at Earl Stonham near Stowmarket, with the creation of 50 jobs. 08-Jul-2002 Associated British Foods is planning to acquire the remaining 19% of George Weston Foods in Australia for £59m. 08-Jul-2002 Avana Bakeries is to create 177 jobs at its bakery in Newport, having won a new contract to supply Christmas Cakes to Marks & Spencer. 05-Jul-2002 The Leicester Shire Development Agency has announced that up to 1,000 new jobs will be created in Leicestershire when three unnamed companies establish new sites in the county, including a UK food manufacturer, a German hi-tech company and a US distributor. 02-Jul-2002 Express Dairies has sold its UHT milk and Frome Creamery operations to Milk Link for £33m, and has also proposed a strategic alliance with the farmers' co-operative to supply chilled dairy products. 02-Jul-2002 Carrick Council has approved plans for the development of a £30m 34-acre food park between Truro and Redruth, which will provide food processing and storage facilities for up to 50 companies. 01-Jul-2002 British Bakeries is setting up a chain of regional distribution centres across the country, including sites in Glasgow, Avonmouth and three other unspecified locations. 01-Jul-2002 Debsons of Sunderland is to expand its sandwich business across the country by opening new depots, and its workforce will rise from 35 to at least 85 by the end of the year. 28-Jun-2002 John Rannoch Foods is considering plans to shed 70 of the 900 jobs at its chicken processing factory in Haughley Park, Suffolk, over the next four months. 28-Jun-2002 Walkers is planning a £50m expansion at its crisps factory in Leicester, including a new warehouse and production line, with the creation of up to 150 jobs. 25-Jun-2002 Premier International Foods is to close its HL Foods canning factory at North Walsham later this year with the loss of almost 100 jobs, in order to transfer production to other sites in Wisbech and Long Sutton. 24-Jun-2002 North Eastern Farmers is in merger discussions with Harbro Farm Sales, which would create a combined Scottish animal feeds business with about 230 staff. 20-Jun-2002 United Biscuits is to shed about 36 of the 750 jobs at its McVitie's biscuit factory in Stockport, having decided to withdraw four products from the site. 17-Jun-2002 Dairy Crest is to invest £49m at the Davidstow creamery in Cornwall, in order to expand production of its Cathedral City cheese brand. 14-Jun-2002 Dawn Pac has suffered a fire at its meat processing factory in Carmarthenshire, but it is not yet known what impact this will have on the 160 jobs. 14-Jun-2002 Northern Foods is considering plans to relocate its headquarters and 150 staff to the Island Wharf waterfront site in Hull, but a number of other sites are also being considered. 14-Jun-2002 Uniq has put its St Ivel yoghurts business up for sale, in order to raise up to £100m and focus on chilled convenience foods. 13-Jun-2002 United Biscuits is to expand production at its KP snacks factory in Billingham with the creation of 100 jobs, due to the success of the new Shoks potato hoop. 12-Jun-2002 Anglia Crown is planning a £1m expansion at its hospital meals production facility in Manchester by November, with the creation of 30 jobs. 10-Jun-2002 International Cuisine is creating 50 new jobs at its ready meals factory in Consett, following a £2.8m expansion programme. 04-Jun-2002 AstraZeneca is looking to sell Marlow Foods, the North Yorkshire-based manufacturer of Quorn substitute meat products, in order to raise up to £100m. 03-Jun-2002 CP Kelco, the manufacturer of food products based on xanthan gum, is expected to shed 70 jobs at its factory in Prescot. 03-Jun-2002 Lancashire Dairies has raised £1m from the sale of part of its Cheetham Hill site to Manchester City Council, helping to secure the future of its 450-strong workforce. 03-Jun-2002 Premier Fresh Foods is to shed 200 of the 1,200 jobs at its chicken processing plant in North Lincolnshire. 03-Jun-2002 Kwoks is planning a £5m expansion at its Oriental foods factory in Grimsby, with the creation of 70 jobs. 03-Jun-2002 C&C Group, the Irish drinks and snacks group, is planning a flotation in both London and Dublin this summer, with a valuation of about £700m. 31-May-2002 Matheson Jess is to close its abattoir in Dundee this month with the loss of 16 jobs. 23-May-2002 Robert Wiseman Dairies is considering sites in Luton, Swindon and Oxford to set up a new £5m milk depot, as part of a strategy to expand further into the south-east. 21-May-2002 Universal Meats is to shed 35 jobs at its meat processing factory in Portadown. 20-May-2002 Sun Valley Foods is to close its poultry processing factory at Blaenavon in South Wales in August and relocate up to 289 jobs to Hereford. 16-May-2002 Cadbury Schweppes is considering plans to launch a £2.8bn bid for Adams, the US gum and sweets company, later this year. 16-May-2002 Glanbia is to close its UK sliced cooked meats business, with the loss of 717 jobs at plants in Bradford and Milton Keynes. 14-May-2002 Glenmorangie is investing £0.5m in the expansion of capacity at its Tain distillery in the Highlands. 14-May-2002 Grampian Country Foods is to close its poultry processing plant at Newbridge in Edinburgh with the loss of 550 jobs, in order to relocate the work to its Coupar Angus site. 09-May-2002 Scottish Enterprise and the Hannah Research Institute have launched the Charis Initiative, a research facility that will provide advice to Scottish food manufacturers with a full-time staff of 37. 08-May-2002 Brecon Carreg is undergoing a £1.5m expansion at its mineral water production plant near Llandeilo, with the creation of 21 jobs. 06-May-2002 Youngs Bluecrest is to close a fish factory in Kilkeel, County Down, with the loss of 150 jobs, in order to relocate the scampi processing operation to Scotland. 06-May-2002 Unilever is in discussions with a number of companies about plans to sell its Loders Croklaan international oils and fats business for about £62m. 03-May-2002 Needler Bluebird is to shed more than 100 jobs at its sweet confectionery factory in Hull over the next few months, and the site will close later this year. 02-May-2002 Albert Fisher is to raise £0.5m from the sale of its 30% stake in Legumland Surgeles, the French processor of frozen vegetables. 30-Apr-2002 Tomos Watkin is to invest £0.4m increasing the capacity at its Swansea brewery, with the creation of 20 jobs. 30-Apr-2002 Princes Foods is considering plans to close its factory in Southport with the loss of 60 jobs, in order to transfer paste production to its site in Chichester. 29-Apr-2002 Christian Salvesen is planning to shed 82 of the 152 jobs at the RVP Foods frozen vegetable processing plant in North Thoresby. 29-Apr-2002 Flatfish is to relocate its Grimsby-based fish processing factory and 30 staff to a new £1m site in Stirling Street in July. 24-Apr-2002 Burn Stewart Distillers has received a bid approach from Angostura of Trinidad. 24-Apr-2002 Brakspear is conducting a review of its Henley-based brewing operation, which could lead to the work being contracted out to another company. 23-Apr-2002 Cadbury Schweppes is in discussions to acquire Dandy, the Danish chewing gum company, for about £350m. 23-Apr-2002 Unilever Bestfoods Ireland has sold a number of food brands to Chivers Ireland, including YR Sauces, Kardee Sauces and Goodall's Herbs & Spices. 22-Apr-2002 Roach Foods is to create 100 additional jobs at its factory in Bodmin, having won new contracts to supply cooked and packaged meats to supermarkets. 19-Apr-2002 Associated British Foods is looking to spend up to £900m on acquisitions. 18-Apr-2002 Ranks Hovis McDougall, the baking and milling group valued at about £1.5bn, is considering plans for a flotation and has appointed Credit Suisse First Boston to advise on possible options. 18-Apr-2002 Burton's Foods is to invest £12m at its biscuit factory in Wirral over the next three years, with the creation of 150 jobs. 17-Apr-2002 Brays Bakery has closed its Leeds bakery with the loss of 140 jobs. 15-Apr-2002 Lloyd Maunder is planning to shed up to 100 jobs at its meat processing plants in Devon. 15-Apr-2002 Cantrell & Cochrane is to invest £10m on replacing its Belfast-based soft drinks production facility, following a recent fire. 11-Apr-2002 Del Monte Fresh Produce is creating 42 jobs at a new 30,000 sq ft fruit packing and distribution centre in Gateshead. 10-Apr-2002 Nestle is to close the recently-acquired Purina pet food factory at Great Cornard near Sudbury, with the loss of 45 jobs. 08-Apr-2002 Wychwood Brewery, the Witney-based beer company with 20 staff, is negotiating the sale of its business to Refresh UK, the privately-controlled brand owner and drinks agency. 04-Apr-2002 Bernard Matthews is planning to extend its factory in Alderford, Norfolk, in order to incorporate a sandwich and pizza processing section, with the creation of up to 150 jobs. 03-Apr-2002 Fyffes is to close its banana ripening and distribution centre in Highbridge, Somerset, with the loss of 60 jobs, and the business will be relocated to Basingstoke. 02-Apr-2002 Cadbury Schweppes is considering plans to move into the US mineral water market by acquiring a small premium brand and using its distribution network to grow the business. 02-Apr-2002 Cantrell & Cochrane, the Irish drinks distributor with 2,000 staff, is planning a flotation in the summer. 27-Mar-2002 Mellors is planning to triple the turnover of its Southport-based contract catering business by taking on a further 30 contracts and recruiting dozens of staff. 25-Mar-2002 Coors is to close its brewery in Smethwick later this year with the loss of up to 320 jobs, and production will be relocated to Burton, where 100 new jobs could be created. 25-Mar-2002 Voyager Foods is considering plans to invest up to £1m in the expansion of its sauces factory in Sunderland, as parent company Kerry looks to expand across Europe. 25-Mar-2002 Scottish & Newcastle is to set up a 355,000 sq ft regional distribution centre at the Mill Park scheme in Thatcham. 18-Mar-2002 Brake Bros is considering plans to put itself up for sale, and may seek a partner to expand its catering operations in France and the UK. 12-Mar-2002 Northern Foods is in discussions to sell its food distribution business and its Smiths Flour Mills subsidiary, in order to focus on higher-value products. 11-Mar-2002 Cargill is building a £3.8m masa flour plant in Seaforth, Liverpool, to meet rising demand for masa-based snack foods. 11-Mar-2002 Scottish & Newcastle is to relocate its Waverly Vintners drinks wholesaling office and call centre from Perth to sites in Edinburgh and Gateshead, which will have an impact on 75 jobs. 08-Mar-2002 Uniq is to set up a prepared foods factory at the former Devon Desserts site in Newton Abbot, with the creation of 50 jobs. 08-Mar-2002 G&G Food Supplies is investing more than £1m in new machinery for its vitamin manufacturing business in East Grinstead. 07-Mar-2002 Scottish & Newcastle has acquired a 46% stake in Mythos Breweries of Greece for £16m. 06-Mar-2002 Arla Foods is to invest £40m in the development of a new dairy near Leeds by 2004, to replace an existing city centre site. 04-Mar-2002 British Bakeries is acquiring the Ormeau bread bakery in south Belfast, which has 400 staff, for undisclosed terms. 01-Mar-2002 Cadbury Schweppes is to buy Squirt, the Mexican soft drink, from Refremex for undisclosed terms. 26-Feb-2002 Global Group has lost a £13m-a-year supply contract with Burger King, prompting fears over the security of 200 jobs at its meat and pasty factory in Hull. 20-Feb-2002 Cwmni Cig Arfon is planning a £1m expansion at its meat processing plant in Caernarfon, with the creation of 20 jobs. 19-Feb-2002 Carlsberg-Tetley is to invest £10m in the expansion of its Northampton brewery, and its marketing budget is to rise by 70% to £28m this year. 19-Feb-2002 Aldreds is building a new £2m bakery at the Manners Industrial Estate in Ilkeston, which will involve the creation of 30 new jobs and the relocation of up to 64. 18-Feb-2002 South West Regional Development Agency has announced plans for the formation of a £0.5m government-funded agency to promote the region's food and drink industry, under the name of South West Food and Drink. 18-Feb-2002 Needler Bluebird is considering plans to close its confectionery factory in Hull, and the business may be relocated to parent company Ashbury Confectionery in Corby. 18-Feb-2002 Allied Distillers is to re-activate the Glendronach distillery with the creation of 18 jobs, and has also announced plans to mothball its Dumbarton distillery and invest £6m at its Strathclyde facility. 15-Feb-2002 Kraft Foods is to shed 47 of the 450 jobs at its Terry's chocolate factory in York this month. 13-Feb-2002 Devon Desserts is to close its factory in Newton Abbot with the loss of 400 jobs, following the collapse of a rescue deal with Greenleaf Products. 12-Feb-2002 Sauce Company is to shed 90 of the 380 jobs at its North Lincolnshire factory, following a decision to withdraw from the chilled retail ready meals market. 08-Feb-2002 Pedigree Masterfoods is to shed 160 of the 1,000 jobs at its pet food factory in Melton Mowbray, following a review of its manufacturing strategy. 08-Feb-2002 Fishwicks is to create 40 jobs with the opening of a new £1.5m fruit and vegetable depot at the Simonside East Industrial Park in South Shields this summer. 07-Feb-2002 The Scottish Executive has announced grants worth £6.8m for improvements to 52 fisheries and aquaculture capital projects in rural Scotland, which could lead to the creation of up to 640 jobs. 06-Feb-2002 Compass has announced deals worth up to £42m to provide catering services at the Silverstone motor racing circuit and racecourses at Worcester, Windsor, Lingfield Park, Wolverhampton, Southwell and Folkestone. 05-Feb-2002 Novartis is planning to sell off some of its consumer products, including Ovaltine malted drink, Isostar sports drink and slimming aids, in order to focus on pharmaceuticals. 05-Feb-2002 Northern Foods is to sell the Ski yoghurt and Munch Bunch brands, along with its factory at Cuddington in Cheshire, to Nestle for £145m, which will involve the transfer of about 300 staff. 01-Feb-2002 Compass has acquired London-based contract caterer Woodin & Johns for undisclosed terms, in order to expand its City dining branch Restaurant Associates. 01-Feb-2002 Joseph Mitchell of Dundee has acquired Challenger Foods of Sunderland for £3.5m, and wants to double the size of the chicken processing business with the creation of about 100 jobs. 01-Feb-2002 Nestle is to close a dehydrated food products factory in Aylesbury later this year with the loss of 114 jobs. 01-Feb-2002 AG Barr is to produce the Irn-Bru soft drink in Russia for the first time, in partnership with the Pepsi Bottling Group. 30-Jan-2002 Solway Foods is to invest £1.5m at its chilled convenience foods factory in Corby with the creation of 120 jobs, in order to launch 20 new product lines this year. 30-Jan-2002 Express Dairies has received a takeover approach from Arla Foods, which is owned by a Swedish farmers' co-operative. 29-Jan-2002 Richmond Foods has bought the Ice Creamery soft-serve ice cream business from Dairygold Co-operative Society of Ireland for an initial £0.6m. 28-Jan-2002 Amman Springs has closed its recently-opened £1m spring water bottling plant in Ammanford while negotiations take place for fresh financial support. 28-Jan-2002 Scottish & Newcastle is making a £60m move into the Indian beer market, which will involve an investment in United Breweries and the formation of a new brewing group. 24-Jan-2002 Allied Domecq and Miller Brewing are to invest £17m each in a new joint venture to launch vodka-and-tequila-flavoured drinks in the US. 21-Jan-2002 Cadbury Schweppes is in negotiations to acquire an equity stake in Kent, the Turkish sugar confectionery manufacturer, and its Birlik distribution arm. 18-Jan-2002 Jus Rol is planning to shed up to 80 jobs at its Berwick factory over the next few months, following a downturn in demand for frozen pastry products. 18-Jan-2002 Hazlewood Foods is planning to shed up to 100 jobs at its bakery in Hull. 18-Jan-2002 Warburtons is to invest £1m at its Newcastle-upon-Tyne bakery this year, including new equipment, new delivery vehicles and more training for the 300 staff. 17-Jan-2002 Scotch Premier Meat is to invest £1m in the reopening of Dornoch abattoir, with the creation of 50 jobs. 17-Jan-2002 The Institute of Food Research has taken over the former British Sugar Technical Centre on the Norwich Research Park, and is now looking to attract companies to the site's laboratory and office facilities. 16-Jan-2002 Primafruit is considering plans to shed some of its 140 Evesham-based staff following the loss of a fruit supply contract with Asda. 16-Jan-2002 North Lincolnshire Council is considering plans from Key Country Provisions to combine its two food distribution operations onto one site on the Foxhills Industrial Estate. 15-Jan-2002 Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has started work on a £19m scheme to replace its kitchens with ready-cooked meals brought in from Tillery Valley Foods of South Wales, with the creation of 80 jobs at a distribution centre at Seacroft Hospital. 14-Jan-2002 Princes Foods is planning to double the size of its business over the next three years, having reorganised the company structure into three divisions - Princes Foods Trading & Manufacturing, Princes Foods International and Princes Soft Drinks. 14-Jan-2002 Compass has won a 10-year contract worth up to £1.3bn to provide catering and facilities management services at ChevronTexaco sites worldwide, which will involve the transfer of about 12,500 staff. 14-Jan-2002 Dundees, the sandwich producer with 47 staff, is considering plans to relocate to a purpose-built factory on a one-acre site near its Newcastle-upon-Tyne headquarters. 10-Jan-2002 Bathams is planning a £1m expansion programme in order to increase capacity at its Brierley Hill brewery and buy five more pubs across the Black Country. 07-Jan-2002 Dairy Crest and First Milk have announced a joint venture to boost milk supplies for cheese and whey production at the Haverfordwest Cheese site in Wales. 04-Jan-2002 The information below comes from the UK Activity Report. 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