U K
The information below comes from the
UK Activity Report.
Gardner Fine Foods is expanding its sandwich manufacturing business with the acquisition of a new site in Walsall, and has also announced the acquisition of Snack Attack Catering of Flintshire and Fetchers Foods of Walsall. 27-Dec-2004
Carreg Brewing Company is planning to transfer production of its authentic Pilsner lager from Belgium to Wales. 21-Dec-2004
Scottish & Newcastle is to strengthen its position in the Indian beer market by forming a £55m alliance with United Breweries. 20-Dec-2004
Kraft Foods is expected to shed up to 120 jobs at its plant in Banbury, following the sale of its Bird's Custard and Angel Delight brands to Premier Foods. 14-Dec-2004
Elizabeth Shaw is planning to close its confectionery factory in Bristol and relocate production to a new site nearby. 13-Dec-2004
Tenderlean Meats is planning a £1.2m expansion at its factory in Fermanagh, having secured a £0.4m EU grant. 10-Dec-2004
Robert Wiseman Dairies is planning to invest up to £30m in a new dairy and distribution depot in Somerset, and is currently seeking a suitable site. 10-Dec-2004
Napier Brown Foods is to relocate production of icing and marzipan from Runcorn to Liverpool in March, with the loss of 75 jobs. 09-Dec-2004
Beech's Fine Chocolates is to shed up to 18 jobs at its confectionery plant in Preston by the end of the year. 06-Dec-2004
The Rural Payment Agency is to shed 270 of the 440 jobs at its office in Exeter over the next two years, following the simplification of European farming subsidies. 02-Dec-2004
Northern Foods is to create 100 jobs at the Palethorpes manufacturing plant in Market Drayton over the next few months, in order to produce sausage rolls and other products for Marks & Spencer. 29-Nov-2004
Arla Foods is to close its HT Webb imported cheese distribution business in Northfleet, Kent, casting doubt on the future of 170 jobs. 29-Nov-2004
Unilever is to close the Elmlea cream plant in Needham Market in 2006, with the loss of 66 jobs, in order to transfer production to its site in Purfleet. 29-Nov-2004
Cereal Partners UK is investing £12m in the expansion of its cereal manufacturing plant in Wirral, with the creation of 30 jobs. 26-Nov-2004
Chivas Brothers is to close its whisky bottling plant in Kilwinning and its distribution depot at Linwood next year, with the loss of up to 93 jobs, in order to transfer the work to sites in Paisley and Newbridge. 23-Nov-2004
Invest NI has announced that O'Kane Poultry has been granted £1m from the EU Processing & Marketing Grant Scheme to expand its poultry processing facilities in Ballymena. 22-Nov-2004
Vitacress Salads is to shed 25 of the 650 jobs at its salad production operations across the south. 22-Nov-2004
Sirhowy Valley Foods, the crisps manufacturer with annual turnover of £5m, is to relocate to a larger factory in Newport in March. 22-Nov-2004
Nestle Rowntree is to expand chocolate crumb production at its factory in Girvan, Scotland, with the creation of an unspecified number of jobs, but 57 jobs will be lost with the closure of its Mallow factory in Ireland. 22-Nov-2004
Diageo is planning to expand the Guinness production plant in Runcorn by next summer, with the creation of scores of jobs. 19-Nov-2004
Anglo Beef Processors is creating 300 jobs at a new £18m meat processing factory at West Moor Park in Doncaster, in order to supply meat to Asda. 18-Nov-2004
Diageo is to invest £4m at the Cameronbridge Distillery at Windygates in Fife, in order to make efficiency and environmental improvements to the production process. 16-Nov-2004
Northumbrian Ice Cream Company is seeking a larger site for its 40-strong workforce in Ashington, which will lead to the creation of ten new jobs, and also wants to open a factory in Australia. 15-Nov-2004
Kraft Foods is looking to sell a number of dessert brands, including Bird's Custard, Angel Delight and Dream Topping. 09-Nov-2004
Inter Link Foods, the Blackburn-based cake manufacturer, has raised £8m in a share placing to fund the acquisition of additional capacity. 04-Nov-2004
Alpha Airports has won a five-year contract to provide catering services for American Airlines at Heathrow, Gatwick and Glasgow, and has also announced the £5m acquisition of a 60% stake in Istanbul Duty Free of Turkey. 04-Nov-2004
HP Bulmer is to shed 49 jobs at its cider factory in Hereford in May, and parent company Scottish & Newcastle hopes to transfer some of the jobs to other parts of the group. 03-Nov-2004
Hall & Woodhouse is to shed 220 jobs at its soft drinks factory in Blandford St Mary early next year, and production will be outsourced. 01-Nov-2004
Evesham Vale Growers is to spend £2m expanding its glasshouse facilities in Worcestershire by six acres, in order to cope with rising demand for tomatoes. 01-Nov-2004
Grampian Country Foods is to restart production at the Harris Quality Bacon factory in Winsford next month, and the site will eventually employ more than 400 staff. 29-Oct-2004
Premier Foods has temporarily closed the Branston pickle factory in Bury St Edmunds, which employs 300 staff, following a fire. 29-Oct-2004
Geest is forming a joint venture with Rannoch Food to produce ready-to-cook meals at Holbeach in Lincolnshire, with the creation of 100 jobs. 28-Oct-2004
Samworth Brothers is to create up to 250 jobs at its various food production sites, including a £10m investment at Walkers Charnwood in Beaumont Leys, £3m at Midshire Foods in Leicester and £2m at Kettleby Foods in Melton. 26-Oct-2004
Heveco Mushrooms is planning to relocate production from its two farms in West Sussex over the next 18 months, and is seeking a site large enough to double its capacity. 25-Oct-2004
Lerwick Fish Traders has threatened to relocate its salmon processing plant and 140 jobs to the mainland if Shetland Islands Council proceeds with plans to build a bridge across its site. 22-Oct-2004
Bon Bon Buddies, the Crumlin-based supplier of character-licensed confectionery, has secured a £0.75m regional selective assistance grant to fund a move to larger premises. 21-Oct-2004
Perkins Foods is looking to sell its chilled food division for more than £60m, and Stamford Partners has been appointed to handle the auction. 20-Oct-2004
Castle Morpeth Council and Morpeth Pride are working on plans for the development of a £4m business enterprise and visitor centre, which would create 85 jobs in the production of Northumberland food, drink and crafts. 20-Oct-2004
Geest Mariner Foods is to set up a new 60,000 sq ft ready meals factory at Europarc in Grimsby by next April, with the creation of 100 jobs. 19-Oct-2004
Robert Wiseman Dairies is seeking planning permission to build a new milk depot in Market Drayton, with the creation of up to 80 jobs, but alternative sites are still being considered. 18-Oct-2004
FareShare, the food redistribution charity, is planning to open six new depots and expand sites in Yorkshire and London by 2007. 18-Oct-2004
Hill Station is planning to set up a new upmarket ice cream factory in Wiltshire, funded by a £1.4m flotation. 18-Oct-2004
Dungannon Meats is to close a meat packing plant in Belfast with the loss of 30 jobs. 15-Oct-2004
Grampian Country Foods is to close its meat processing factory in Spalding with the loss of 138 jobs, as well as its chicken factory near Uckfield with the loss of 485 jobs. 15-Oct-2004
Unilever is to close the Birds Eye frozen food factory in Grimsby early next year, with the loss of 600 jobs. 08-Oct-2004
Coors is to close a cask ale production line in Burton in February with the loss of 18 jobs, having lost a contract to brew Draught Bass beer. 08-Oct-2004
Britvic Soft Drinks is planning a flotation early next year, with Citigroup and Deutsche Bank being appointed as advisers. 04-Oct-2004
Arla Foods is to close two dairies in Newcastle upon Tyne and Ruislip, with the loss of more than 400 jobs. 01-Oct-2004
Crown Pet Foods is seeking permission to build a pet foods factory in Castle Cary, Somerset, which would employ about 80 staff. 01-Oct-2004
Robert Wiseman Dairies is to create 175 jobs at a new £7.5m distribution depot in Northampton by 2005. 30-Sep-2004
Northern Foods is to close chilled food factories in Evesham and Carlisle next year, with the loss of 1,000 jobs. 29-Sep-2004
Virgin Wines is recruiting a further 35 wine advisers at its headquarters in Norwich, taking the total workforce to 135. 29-Sep-2004
Coca-Cola Bottlers Ulster may close its soft drinks bottling plant in Antrim, which employs 500 staff, as the parent company wants to consolidate its Irish operations onto a new unidentified site. 29-Sep-2004
White Young Green has been selected as preferred consultant for the development of a £20m national distribution centre in Cannock for Unilever Bestfoods by the end of next year. 28-Sep-2004
Newboulds is to invest £1m in new machinery and building work at its Riverside Park factory on Teesside, having won a contract to supply meat products to Asda. 27-Sep-2004
Del Monte is to create 250 new jobs at its fruit packing site in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire. 27-Sep-2004
Tamar Foods has awarded a £3m contract to Dean & Dyball to extend its food factory in Callington. 27-Sep-2004
Minola Smoked Products of Abergavenny is to close next month with the loss of eight jobs, due to the rising cost of building insurance. 24-Sep-2004
Richmond Foods is considering plans to close its ice cream factory in Ivybridge, Devon, next year, with the loss of almost 200 jobs. 24-Sep-2004
Shire Foods is to relocate its pie production plant and up to 75 staff from Warwick to a new £4.5m factory at Tachbrook Point in Leamington early next year. 23-Sep-2004
Country Style Foods is creating 25 new jobs at its frozen desserts factory in Stockton, taking the workforce to 250. 20-Sep-2004
Daniels Chilled Foods is creating about 140 jobs at its newly-opened £4m prepared fruits factory at Waterside Park in Leeds, with production being transferred from its Seacroft site. 20-Sep-2004
Geest, the fresh foods group, is to shed about 100 management jobs at sites across the country. 20-Sep-2004
Lakeland Dairies is to close its powdered milk plant in Omagh by the end of the year, with the loss of 53 jobs. 16-Sep-2004
Greggs is to close the Carricks Bakery in Newcastle next year, but at least 55 of the 105 staff are expected to be retained in other parts of the business. 15-Sep-2004
Brakes is in discussions to acquire the Peter's Food Service chilled food distribution business from Compass. 15-Sep-2004
Buccleuch Heritage Brands has closed its abattoir at Castle Douglas with the loss of up to 14 jobs. 14-Sep-2004
Barratlantic is to receive financial support from Western Isles Enterprise for the £0.5m expansion of its fish processing factory on Barra, with the creation of five jobs. 13-Sep-2004
Interbrew is to close the Boddingtons brewery in Manchester in February 2005, with the loss of 55 jobs, in order to transfer production to south Wales, Glasgow and Preston. 10-Sep-2004
Northern Foods has announced plans to relocate its head office from Hull to Leeds, which will involve the transfer of up to 100 staff to either Leeds or an existing site in Wakefield. 10-Sep-2004
Northern Counties Meat is to close its abattoir in Sunderland, and has applied for planning permission to build executive housing on the site. 07-Sep-2004
Unilever is looking to sell the Birds Eye fish products factory in Grimsby, prompting fears that the site may be closed with the loss of 650 jobs. 06-Sep-2004
Greencore is to close its malting plant in Carnoustie by the end of the year, with the loss of 12 jobs, in order to concentrate work at its sites in Buckie and Glenesk. 02-Sep-2004
Dairy Crest has lost a £60m-a-year contract to supply milk to Tesco, raising fears about possible dairy closures. 30-Aug-2004
British Cattle Movement Service is to create a further 50 jobs in Workington, assuming it is selected to administer the new National Fallen Stock Scheme. 25-Aug-2004
Interbrew has confirmed plans to close the Bass Ireland Ulster Brewery in Belfast in January, with the loss of up to 85 jobs. 25-Aug-2004
Glenmorangie, the whisky company with three distilleries, has been put up for sale with an estimated value of up to £300m. 24-Aug-2004
Ashbury Confectionery has secured a £2.5m finance facility to invest in new equipment and product development. 23-Aug-2004
Maxxium UK is to invest £2m in the expansion of its alcoholic drinks business, including improved merchandising and the recruitment of 27 extra staff. 16-Aug-2004
Warburtons has confirmed plans to build a £60m bakery in Wakefield by June 2005, with the creation of 200 jobs. 16-Aug-2004
Countrywest Trading and Cornwall Farmers are forming a new company called Tamar Feeds, in order to operate the Countrywest mill at Launceston and supply animal feeds to farms throughout the region. 13-Aug-2004
Nichols is looking to sell its Nichols Foods business, which employs 350 staff, and a conditional offer has been received from management. 12-Aug-2004
Arla Foods is planning to build a £10m milk processing plant in Lockerbie by next year, with the creation of about 100 jobs. 11-Aug-2004
Uniq has confirmed plans to close its sandwich factory in Devizes later this year, with the loss of 203 jobs. 06-Aug-2004
Wrights Pies is planning to set up a new £3.5m confectionery plant in Stoke-on-Trent, with the creation of 150 jobs over the next three years. 03-Aug-2004
Joseph Heler is investing £1m in the expansion of its cheese factory in Nantwich. 02-Aug-2004
Manor Bakeries is to invest £45m in the expansion of its cake manufacturing operations over the next three years, with the creation of 300 jobs at its bakery in Barnsley. 02-Aug-2004
Watton Produce is investing £1.7m in new vegetable packing facilities in Norfolk. 02-Aug-2004
Warburtons has awarded a £2m contract to Hargreaves Contracting to refurbish its bakery at Wednesbury. 22-Jul-2004
Merrydown is to close a cider and soft drinks factory in East Sussex by the end of the year, with the loss of 35 jobs. 19-Jul-2004
Dairy Crest is to close its yogurts and cheeses factory in Enfield next year, with the loss of 320 jobs. 19-Jul-2004
Geest is setting up a new business called International Produce at sites in Yorkshire and Kent, in order to simplify the supply of imported produce to Asda. 15-Jul-2004
Moray Council is to consider plans from Walkers Shortbread to set up a new bakery facility at its site in Elgin, with the creation of up to 200 jobs. 13-Jul-2004
Young's Bluecrest is creating more than 250 new jobs at its seafood factories in Grimsby, due to an increase in fish consumption. 08-Jul-2004
Interbrew is looking to sell the Bass Brewery in west Belfast, in order to ensure the future of the 80 jobs. 06-Jul-2004
Dundas Brothers, the Inverurie-based rendering plant, has gone into liquidation with the loss of most of the 63 jobs. 05-Jul-2004
Yorkshire Forward is assisting Soy Magic of Israel with plans to build a £3m factory at Europarc in Grimsby to produce soya milk, yoghurts and desserts, with the creation of more than 50 jobs. 05-Jul-2004
RHM, the food group with 20,000 staff at 69 manufacturing sites, is preparing plans for a £1bn flotation later this year. 30-Jun-2004
United Biscuits is investing £5m at its biscuit factory in Carlisle with the creation of 90 jobs, in order to transfer production of Ginger Nuts from Ashby-de-la-Zouch. 28-Jun-2004
Dairy Crest is to close its milk and juice processing facility at Newport on the Isle of Wight, with the loss of 37 jobs. 21-Jun-2004
Carlsberg is planning to transfer the production of Holsten beer from Germany to the UK over the next few years. 21-Jun-2004
Unilever Ventures is to close its Rocket meal kits subsidiary, having cancelled trials in stores operated by Somerfield, Co-op, Total and Whistlestop. 21-Jun-2004
Dewfresh Mushrooms is to close its mushroom production facility in Norfolk with the loss of 90 jobs. 18-Jun-2004
East End Foods is to create 150 new jobs at its food distribution centre in West Bromwich by 2006. 17-Jun-2004
Scottish & Newcastle is to invest up to £5m at the Federation Brewery in Gateshead, in order to transfer Newcastle Brown Ale production from the Tyne Brewery. 16-Jun-2004
Kerry Foods Direct To Store is to set up a 60,000 sq ft frozen foods distribution centre on the Dorcan estate in Swindon, with the creation of more than 100 jobs. 11-Jun-2004
Johnson Seafarms is planning to raise £2.5m to develop the UK's first commercial cod farm in the Shetland Isles. 10-Jun-2004
MI Dickson, the pork butcher, is to invest £0.8m in the expansion of its South Shields headquarters and the opening of two new shops, securing the future of its 230 staff. 10-Jun-2004
Arla Foods is to invest £20m in the expansion of its new Stourton dairy near Leeds, and has also announced a deal with TNT Mail for its Express Dairies subsidiary to deliver letters and parcels to 6m households. 09-Jun-2004
GBL International, the Chesterfield-based vodka supplier with annual turnover of £70m, is to change its name to Global Brands. 08-Jun-2004
East Riding Council-backed Bridlington One Stop Shop is to help Global Cake Company recruit 120 staff at the former Hibernia Foods factory in Bridlington. 08-Jun-2004
Maple Leaf Bakery is setting up a new £2m bakery at Lillyhall, near Workington, with the creation of about 70 jobs. 07-Jun-2004
Genus is seeking acquisitions to expand its bovine genetics business, and is interested in two UK subsidiaries of international competitors that have been put up for sale. 07-Jun-2004
Scottish & Newcastle is to invest £2m at the Caledonian brewery in Edinburgh, in order to double its capacity and transfer McEwans production from the Fountainbridge site. 04-Jun-2004
Northern Foods has confirmed that moves are underway to relocate its headquarters away from Hull, and sites are being considered in Sheffield, Doncaster, Leeds and Wakefield. 04-Jun-2004
Apetito is to set up a £0.5m frozen foods product development centre at its site in Trowbridge. 01-Jun-2004
Greencore is planning to treble its production capacity for ready meals over the next two years, which could be achieved through acquisitions or by building a new factory. 31-May-2004
Lyons Seafoods is to invest £3m in the expansion of its factory in Warminster by 2005, with the creation of 40 jobs. 31-May-2004
Organic Farm Foods Scotland has placed its West Lothian-based vegetable distribution business into liquidation, and its customers will now be supplied from the OFF sites in England. 26-May-2004
Asda has ended milk supply contracts worth £90m with Robert Wiseman and Dairy Crest, and will now buy all of its liquid milk from Arla Foods UK. 26-May-2004
Uniq is planning to close two dessert factories in Newton Abbot, Devon, and Evercreech, Wiltshire, over the next two years, with the loss of 550 jobs. 25-May-2004
RE Winder, the Ulverston-based abattoir, has closed with the loss of 35 jobs. 24-May-2004
Manor Bakeries is to close its bakery in Eastleigh with the loss of 423 jobs, while 238 of the 550 jobs at its bakery in Moreton on the Wirrall will also be lost. 20-May-2004
Procter & Gamble is to shed up to 60 jobs at the Cobalt Business Park in North Tyneside, having outsourced its transactional accounts payment support function to Hewlett-Packard. 20-May-2004
Cumbrian Seafoods is to create 40 new jobs at its factory in Maryport, having won a contract to supply coated fish to Morrisons. 17-May-2004
Innovate Logistics is to create 150 jobs in Worksop over the next two years, having won planning permission to develop a 140,000 sq ft food distribution centre at the Manton Wood Enterprise Park. 17-May-2004
Carlsberg UK is to open a 60,000 sq ft drinks distribution depot in Croydon in June, with the creation of about 50 jobs. 13-May-2004
Gerber Foods is to build a £35m fruit juice factory near Bridgwater in Somerset, employing 800 staff, and the company will relocate from existing offices nearby. 13-May-2004
Univeg is to close its vegetable packing plant near Penzance, with the loss of 27 jobs. 12-May-2004
Robert Wiseman Dairies is planning to expand its dairy capacity by 2006, possibly by extending its Manchester site, while a new depot will open in the south-east next year. 12-May-2004
Premier Foods, the grocery supplier owned by Hicks Muse Tate & Furst, is considering plans for a £1bn flotation. 11-May-2004
Unilever Bestfoods is to shed 38 of the 176 jobs at the Colman's mustard and sauces factory in Norwich. 10-May-2004
Kelloggs, the cereals manufacturer, is considering plans to relocate a small number of senior executives from its European headquarters in Manchester to Ireland. 10-May-2004
Buxted Chickens is to shed 99 of the 550 jobs at its poultry processing plant in Flixton, Suffolk. 07-May-2004
Tetley is to invest £2.5m in the automation of its tea packing plant at Eaglescliffe in the Tees Valley, but 46 of the 600 jobs will be lost. 06-May-2004
Canterbury Foods is planning to raise £5.8m in a share placing to fund the rationalisation of its four meat factories. 03-May-2004
Wilson's Country, the fruit and vegetable processor with 170 staff, is to relocate to a new £3.2m factory at Carn near Portadown in the summer. 29-Apr-2004
Produce World is to set up a new £1m fruit and vegetable packing operation in Peterborough, with the creation of 150 jobs. 29-Apr-2004
Interbrew is considering plans to shed up to 30 jobs at the Bass brewery in Belfast, having lost a £6m contract to bottle Lucozade. 23-Apr-2004
Rathbones Bakeries is to close its bakery in Peterborough in July with the loss of 172 jobs. 23-Apr-2004
Scottish & Newcastle is to close the Tyne Brewery in Newcastle with the loss of 100 jobs, and production will transfer to nearby Dunston. 23-Apr-2004
Euro Foods has secured a grant from the National Assembly for Wales to help with the expansion of its office in Newport and the construction of a new chicken processing plant. 22-Apr-2004
Allerdale Council is to consider plans from Dutch consortium Partners in Cheese to build a £37m cheese factory in Workington, with the creation of up to 70 jobs. 22-Apr-2004
Yorkshire Forward is to help fund the development of a £0.3m harbourside shellfish complex at Whitby by mid 2005. 20-Apr-2004
Kraft Foods is to close its Terry's confectionery factory and warehouse in York next year, with the loss of 316 jobs. 20-Apr-2004
Weetabix is planning to expand its cereals factory in Northamptonshire with the creation of up to 150 jobs. 19-Apr-2004
Unilever Bestfoods is looking to sell some of its cooking fat brands in the UK and Ireland, but there will be minimum impact on staff at its Purfleet factory. 19-Apr-2004
Diageo is to close the Park Royal Guinness brewery in London in 2005, with the loss of 90 jobs. 16-Apr-2004
Burton's Foods is said to be considering plans to shed a further 100 jobs at its biscuit factory in Moreton, Wirral. 16-Apr-2004
Northern Foods is said to be close to agreeing the sale of its Hull headquarters to ING Real Estate to make way for the £160m Ferensway scheme, but there is no indication as to where the 200 staff will be relocated. 14-Apr-2004
Flagship Fresh Meats has closed its West Bromwich pig abattoir with the loss of 40 jobs. 13-Apr-2004
Co-operative Group is said to considering plans to sell off its ACC liquid milk processing and manufacturing division, which includes the Llandyrnog Creamery in Denbigh. 08-Apr-2004
Moorsfresh is to open two new depots in Ripon and Doncaster, in order to distribute locally-produced food products. 08-Apr-2004
Nutrinnovator is to raise £2.5m in a share placing to fund the commercial development of healthy snacks and drinks. 05-Apr-2004
Arla Foods UK is to close a dairy in Bamber Bridge, Lancashire, and a bottling line in Hatfield Peverel, Essex, with the loss of 310 jobs. 05-Apr-2004
Dawn Group is to expand the workforce at its food processing factory in Cross Hands, Carmarthenshire, from 220 to 400, but will close its Pontardawe facility, which employs 50 staff. 02-Apr-2004
Union Snack is planning to expand the 80-strong workforce at its pretzel snacks factory in County Durham by 50% over the next three years, and £1m will be invested in new equipment. 02-Apr-2004
Scotpigs, the Aberdeenshire-based pig farming company with 110 staff, has gone into provisional liquidation. 01-Apr-2004
Nestle is to shed 270 jobs at its chocolate confectionery factory in Halifax over the next two years. 30-Mar-2004
Allied Domecq is investing £3.5m at its Scapa and Glendronach whisky distilleries, in order to benefit from rising demand for single malts. 29-Mar-2004
Kerry Foods is to shed 70 of the 250 jobs at the former Hibernia Foods ready meals factory in Hartlepool. 24-Mar-2004
Geest is considering plans to expand its ready meals factory in Grimsby, which currently employs 300 staff, and an announcement is expected later this year. 23-Mar-2004
Jordans is to open a 63,000 sq ft distribution centre in Biggleswade next year, as part of a £20m investment in the expansion of its cereals and snacks business. 22-Mar-2004
Nestle is to close its Purina petfood factory at Barrhead near Glasgow later this year, with the loss of 206 jobs. 19-Mar-2004
Percy Dalton has won planning permission to set up a peanut processing factory in Haverhill next year, with the creation of up to 100 jobs. 19-Mar-2004
Provexis has secured almost £0.6m to fund the expansion of its Liverpool-based medical foods business, which includes a new orange juice drink designed to reduce the chance of blood clots. 18-Mar-2004
Freemans of Newent has shed 53 jobs at its poultry processing plant in Gloucestershire. 18-Mar-2004
Tayto has acquired a snacks factory employing 25 people at Skelmersdale, and has also acquired a 32-acre site in Lurgan, Co Armagh, to set up a central distribution depot. 17-Mar-2004
Lasco of Jamaica is looking into the possibility of opening a second factory in Plymouth to make fruit and soya products, while its first factory is due to start production in May. 15-Mar-2004
Chitty Food Group is to close its Congerstone abattoir in Warwickshire, following the loss of a contract to supply lamb to Waitrose. 15-Mar-2004
InterContinental Hotels is planning to float its Britvic soft drinks business and sell hotels worth up to £1bn. 12-Mar-2004
J&J Haslett is in negotiations to sell its Holmes Catering Services division, in order to secure the future of 80 jobs in Ballymoney. 12-Mar-2004
Premier Foods is creating 40 new jobs at its Branston Pickle factory in Bury St Edmunds. 12-Mar-2004
Fiesta Soft Drinks, the distributor of beverages throughout the North-East, is going into voluntary liquidation with the loss of 20 jobs. 12-Mar-2004
Faccenda is to shed 90 of the 330 jobs at its Okeford Fitzpaine chicken processing plant in Dorset. 12-Mar-2004
Carlsberg-Tetley, the Danish-owned brewer, is to change its name to Carlsberg UK. 11-Mar-2004
Exel has won a £100m contract to distribute drinks for off-licence chain Thresher. 10-Mar-2004
Faccenda is to shed about 130 of the 500 jobs at its chicken processing factory near Chippenham, following a recent investment in automation. 02-Mar-2004
Lakeland Dairies is to set up a food research and development facility at its Pritchitts dairy manufacturing site in Newtownards. 01-Mar-2004
Nestle is to close its chilled desserts factory in Staverton in September, with the loss of 155 jobs. 01-Mar-2004
Coca-Cola Enterprises is to consolidate its operations in the West Midlands into a 36,000 sq ft building at Coleshill, as part of a nationwide review of its properties. 01-Mar-2004
Maxway Foods is to close its chicken processing plant in Milfield, Northumberland, with the loss of 85 jobs. 27-Feb-2004
Youngs Bluecrest is to invest £15m at its seafood factories in Hull and Grimsby with the creation of 300 jobs, but about 260 jobs will be lost through the closure of its plant in Gosforth. 26-Feb-2004
O'Kane Poultry is to build a new £3m poultry products factory in Ballymena, and the site should be operational by the autumn. 26-Feb-2004
Cranswick Gourmet Sausage Company is to close its Teesside factory with the loss of up to 166 jobs, in order to consolidate operations at a new £5m site near Hull later this year. 23-Feb-2004
Whitworths is to close its Trent Foods factory in Brigg next month, with the loss of 70 jobs. 20-Feb-2004
Uniq is in discussions with a number of companies interested in acquiring its UK poultry business, which has annual sales of £57m. 18-Feb-2004
Scottish & Newcastle has confirmed plans to close its brewery in Edinburgh later this year, with the loss of 170 jobs, while a smaller site is being acquired from Caledonian Brewery to produce McEwan's ales. 18-Feb-2004
Country Style Foods is to shed 69 of the 250 jobs at its recently-acquired factory in Stockton. 16-Feb-2004
Matthew Clark, the drinks company, is to be merged with the European division of its US parent company Constellation Brands, and a new corporate headquarters will be found in the London area. 16-Feb-2004
FeedCo is to invest £1.7m in improvements at its animal feed manufacturing plant near Darlington over the next two years. 16-Feb-2004
Scottish & Newcastle is to acquire a 20% stake in the Chongqing breweries in China for £35m. 12-Feb-2004
Fenland District Council is to consider plans from Del Monte to expand its fruit processing site in Wisbech, with the creation of up to 100 jobs. 11-Feb-2004
Interbrew is to set up an 82,000 sq ft beer distribution centre at the former Kwik Save warehouse in Newport, South Wales. 05-Feb-2004
Fenland District Council is considering plans from Delamore to relocate its plant nursery and 175 staff to a new £5m site in Wisbech St Mary, with the creation of 45 new jobs. 04-Feb-2004
Devro, the manufacturer of sausage casings, is said to considering plans to open a new factory in Hamilton, with the creation of 45 jobs. 04-Feb-2004
RHM is investing several million pounds in a new pizza bases factory for its Charnwood Foods division in Wigston, Leicestershire. 03-Feb-2004
Greggs of Yorkshire has announced plans for a £4.5m expansion at its bakery in Leeds by August, with the creation of up to 30 jobs. 02-Feb-2004
Cafedirect, the organic tea and coffee supplier, is to raise £5m in a flotation in order to fund marketing activities and the development of more links with producers. 02-Feb-2004
Alpha Airports is to reorganise its in-flight catering operations with the loss of 90 management and support jobs. 02-Feb-2004
Kraft Foods is to shed 6,000 staff worldwide over the next three years, which could affect sites in York, Bridgend, Banbury and Cheltenham. 29-Jan-2004
House of York is planning to close its sweet factory in Carlisle with the loss of 77 jobs, following the collapse of a deal to sell the business. 29-Jan-2004
Scottish & Newcastle and Carlsberg are in discussions to combine the technical support services they offer to UK pubs, by forming a new company called Serviced Dispense Equipment. 29-Jan-2004
Univeg is expected to shed dozens of the 100 jobs at its vegetable growing operation in Lincolnshire, following the loss of two contracts to supply supermarkets. 28-Jan-2004
Scottish & Newcastle is conducting a review of its entire business in an attempt to cut costs, prompting speculation that it may consider closing two of its five UK breweries. 27-Jan-2004
Northern Foods is looking to sell its Eden Vale yoghurt and chilled desserts production facility in Shropshire, which is valued at £19m. 26-Jan-2004
Express Dairies is to close its Express Chilled dairy distribution depot in Swindon with the loss of 100 jobs, following its merger with Arla Foods. 22-Jan-2004
Roberts Food Group is to shed about 60 of the 400 jobs at its Yorkshire puddings factory in Leeds. 22-Jan-2004
Wessanen is to close its Dailycer cereals manufacturing plant in Telford with the loss of 140 jobs, although up to 67 jobs will be created at its Deeside site. 21-Jan-2004
Warburtons is to shed 40 of the 399 jobs at its bakery in Wednesbury following a recent fire, and work will start on rebuilding the site over the next few weeks. 20-Jan-2004
Good Food Chain is planning to create about 30 jobs this year, following the expansion of its sandwich production site in Stone. 19-Jan-2004
Navital is planning to set up a 450-acre mussel production site in the waters of the Cromarty Firth. 19-Jan-2004
The Scottish Executive is said to be reviewing the funding of the Scottish Agricultural College and Ayr's Hannah Research Institute, which could involve work from the SAC's eight veterinary centres being transferred to Edinburgh's Moredun Institute. 19-Jan-2004
Dale Farm is to invest £4m in the expansion of its Dromona butter and dairy spreads plant in County Antrim over the next three years. 19-Jan-2004
British Bakeries is to close the Ormeau Bakery in Belfast this spring, and most of the 200 staff are expected to transfer to its other site in Apollo Road. 15-Jan-2004
Shropshire Dairies is seeking permission to extend its milk depot in Shrewsbury, with the relocation of 14 jobs from Newtown in Powys. 14-Jan-2004
Christian Salvesen Foods is considering plans to shed up to 50 of the 120 jobs at its factory at Oulton Broad near Lowestoft, in order to transfer rice and green bean processing to sites in North Thoresby and Bourn. 09-Jan-2004
Wilson's Countryfresh is to shed up to 20 of the 150 jobs at its factory in Craigavon, as part of an alliance with Willowbrook Foods that will involve the transfer of vegetable and salad production to Killinchy. 08-Jan-2004
Yorkshire Water has approved a scheme from the Able Partnership to set up a fish farm and caviar production facility on a 14-hectare site in Caldervale, Wakefield. 05-Jan-2004
The information below comes from the
UK Activity Report.
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