PROFILPELAJAR.COM

Princes Limited
Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Food & Drink
Founded	1880; 144 years ago, in Liverpool, England
Founders	William M. Simpson; Frank Roberts;
Headquarters	Liverpool, England
Number of locations	11 production sites World Wide
Area served	World Wide
Key people	Simon Harrison
Products	Fish, meat, fruit, vegetables, soups, pastes, pasta, cooking sauces, edible oils and soft drinks
Revenue	£1.7bn billion (March 2024)
Number of employees	7,000+
Parent	Newlat Food S.p.A
Website	https://www.princesgroup.com/

Princes Group is an international food and drink group involved in the manufacture, import and distribution of branded and customer own-brand products. Founded in 1880 and headquartered in the UK, and recently acquired by Newlat Food S.p.A.

History

Princes’ heritage dates back to 1880,^[2] when it was established as a fish importing business in Liverpool, the city where its international headquarters are still located today. The firm was founded as a partnership by Briton William Muirhead Simpson (1842–1926) and Canadian Frank Roberts (1853–1938) and initially imported tinned lobster from Canada. It operated as Simpson Roberts, then created brands including Maypole (1891), Mikado (1895) and Princes (1900). By 1915, Simpson Roberts was the world's largest exporter of lobster, handling one third of the world's lobster trade. In 1919, the partnership was incorporated as a limited company. In 1962, it changed its name to Princes Foods.^[3]

Princes first entered continental Europe in 1960^[2] and today its European operations are managed from its offices in Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

In 1964, Princes was acquired by 'Trex' manufacturer J Bibby & Sons. In 1973, the combined business was sold to Italy's Buitoni group, which, in 1988 was acquired by Nestlé, with Princes then sold to Mitsubishi Corporation in 1989.^[3]

As a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi,^[2] Princes completed several high-profile mergers and acquisitions that added significant scale to the business. After the 2011 acquisition of Premier Foods' canning operations for £182M, Princes was, by 2013, the UK's largest supplier of tinned food; by 2020, it employed 7,000 people globally, 2,200 of them in UK.^[3] However, in January 2023, Mitsubishi was reported to be considering selling the Princes Group,^[4]^[5] and in March 2023 potential buyers, including Bain Capital-backed Valeo Foods and the Aurelius Group investment firm, were reported to be considering bids of around £400M.^[6]

From July 24, Princes Group became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Newlat Foods, retaining its legal name ‘Princes Ltd’.

Timeline

1880 Founded in Liverpool by William Muirhead Simpson and Frank Roberts
1900 Princes Pure Foods formed, Princes brand established
1946 Princes starts first manufacturing venture
1960 Princes enters continental Europe
1968 Princes acquired by 'Trex' manufacturer J. Bibby and Sons^[7]
1973 Princes sold to Buitoni Group
1988 Buitoni Group, including Princes, acquired by Nestlé
1989 Mitsubishi Corporation buys Princes from Nestlé
1991 Princes enters the soft drinks category through the acquisition of Barraclough
1999 Princes acquires Tuna Mauritius
2001 Princes acquires both the Shippam's and Napolina brands/businesses
2004 Princes acquires water business and the Aqua Pura brand
2005 Princes acquires cooking oils brands and forms Edible Oils Limited (EOL) joint venture business. Princes establishes MC Foods Europe
2010 Princes opens Princes Polska office and forms joint venture business to expand distribution of oils in eastern and central Europe
2011 Princes acquires two East Anglian canning operations and the Crosse & Blackwell and Farrow's brands^[8]
2012 Princes Industrie Alimentari S.r.L. (PIA) created and processing factory in Foggia, Italy acquired^[9]
2015 Princes Tuna (Mauritius) completes agreement to create enlarged tuna processing operation^[10]
2018 Princes announces business review after net profits fall to £0.5m;^[11] in October 2018, Princes announces factories in Manchester and Chichester would close^[12]^[13]
2024 Mitsubishi Corporation agree to sell to Italian-based Newlat Food S.p.A (‘Newlat’), encompassing all current operations and brands in an agreement valued at £700m.^[14] Announced in May, the purchase was completed two months later.^[15]

Operations

Princes' customers include major supermarkets, convenience stores, foodservice operators, wholesale suppliers and other food manufacturers. Its brands and products span over 20 different categories including fish, meat, fruit, vegetables, soups, pastes, pasta, cooking sauces, edible oils and a broad range of soft drinks sectors.^[16]

Owned and operated brands

Brands (*= licensed brands) which Princes manufacture and produce include:^[17]

Batchelors Peas* – a brand that dates back to 1895 with a range that includes canned soups and peas (under licence from Premier Foods)
Branston Beans* – a brand well known for its store cupboard favourites such as baked beans and spaghetti in tomato sauce (under licence from Mizkan)
Crisp 'n Dry – popular UK vegetable oil brand
Crosse & Blackwell - canned food brand that includes favourites such as baked beans, soups, pasta, vegetables and ready meals
Farrow's – British-grown giant marrowfat processed peas
Flora* – popular sunflower oil brand
Jucee – popular squash drinks brand
Mazola - corn and speciality oil brand. Range includes corn, peanut, grapeseed, rapeseed and sunflower oils
Napolina - Italian-style ingredients brand. Range includes sun-ripened tomatoes to fruity olive oils, pasta and pasta sauces, as well as more specialist grated cheese, pulses and pizza products
Olivio* - cooking oil first launched in 1991, made with a blend of vegetable and olive oils
Princes – the Princes range now includes over 350 food and drink products including canned fish, meat, fruit and vegetables, microwavable ready meals, sandwich fillings and soft drinks
Trex – home baking brand which is a dairy-free alternative to butter
Vier Diamanten – popular Austrian canned fish brand
Wielkopolski – cooking oil used for frying, baking, salad dressings, and in cakes and desserts

Production sites

Princes operates 11 production sites situated in the UK, mainland Europe and Mauritius:

UK food sites

Long Sutton, Lincolnshire – this site produces a range of canned products including baked beans, vegetables, fruit, pulses, pies, pasta, meatballs and ready meals
Wisbech – located in Cambridgeshire, this site produces canned and pouch products including baked beans, soups, pulses, pasta, vegetables and sauces

UK soft drinks sites

Cardiff – produces juice products in cartons
Bradford – this site produces squash and carbonated soft drinks
Glasgow – supplies canned soft drinks

UK edible oils

Belvedere, London – located in south east London, this site produces olive and speciality oils
Erith – located in south east London, this site produces cooking oil

International

Foggia, Italy – this factory is one of the most modern and efficient ambient tomato processing facilities in Europe^[18]
Riche Terre, Port Louis, Mauritius – one of the most technologically advanced tuna processing facilities in the world^[19]
Marine Road, Port Louis, Mauritius - a major processing facility producing tuna loins^[20]
Szamotuły, Poland – located in the north west region of Wielkopolska, this site primarily produces rapeseed oil.