British Sugar Corporation
Encyclopedia
British Sugar plc is a subsidiary of Associated British Foods
and the sole British producer of sugar
from sugar beet
.
British Sugar processes all sugar beet grown in the UK and produces about half of the UK's quota of sugar, with the remainder covered by Tate & Lyle
and imports. British Sugar and the growers fix a contract called the "Inter Professional Agreement" determining price paid for beet grown and the allocation of growers' quotas. The National Farmers Union (NFU) is the negotiator for the growers.
the entire sugar beet crop processing industry, under the banner of British Sugar Corporation. At this time there were 13 separate companies with 18 factories across the country. In 1972 it began selling its sugar products under the name of Silver Spoon.
In 1977 a rights issue
decreased the government holding from 36% to 24%. It was taken over by Berisford International
in 1982 and in May of that year the company name was shortened to British Sugar plc.
It was sold on 2 January 1991 to Associated British Foods
(ABF) after a crash in property values affected Berisford. ABF had attempted to purchase in the late 1980s but the stockmarket downturn had stopped their move.
, Felsted
, Nottingham
and Selby
factories closed after a reduction in the allowed sugar quota. This was followed by the closure of a site at Spalding
in 1989, Peterborough
and Brigg
in 1991, King's Lynn
in 1994, Bardney
and Ipswich
in 2001, Kidderminster
in 2002, and Allscott
and York
in 2007. The site at Allscott, which opened in 1927, near Telford
, Shropshire
, was closed because it "lacked scale" to be run economically, while the site at York, North Yorkshire
(opened 1926) was closed due to the poor crop yields in northern England
.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/england/5145582.stm
Of the 18 factories which were owned by the British Sugar Corporation, it currently only processes beet at four - Bury St Edmunds, Cantley, Norfolk
(the first British sugar factory, 1912), Newark-on-Trent
and Wissington, Norfolk
near Stoke Ferry
. The Newark and Bury sites are also major packaging plants for Silver Spoon. The 12 sites already closed have been sold and decommissioned to various degrees - many large concrete silos (for storing the major product, white granulated sugar) still remain even where the sites have been closed, including those at the Kidderminster
factory which was closed in 2002 and was sold off in 2006, and Ipswich. Allscott has now been completely demolished. Spalding has been replaced by a gas fired power station.
BP
and DuPont
are working with British Sugar to build a bioethanol plant at BP's Hull site, per an announcement made on June 2007.
Associated British Foods
Associated British Foods plc is a global food, ingredients and retail company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. Its ingredients division is the world's second largest producer of both sugar and baker's yeast and a major producer of other ingredients including emulsifiers, enzymes and lactose...
and the sole British producer of sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
from sugar beet
Sugar beet
Sugar beet, a cultivated plant of Beta vulgaris, is a plant whose tuber contains a high concentration of sucrose. It is grown commercially for sugar production. Sugar beets and other B...
.
British Sugar processes all sugar beet grown in the UK and produces about half of the UK's quota of sugar, with the remainder covered by Tate & Lyle
Tate & Lyle
Tate & Lyle plc is a British-based multinational agribusiness. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index as of 20 June 2011...
and imports. British Sugar and the growers fix a contract called the "Inter Professional Agreement" determining price paid for beet grown and the allocation of growers' quotas. The National Farmers Union (NFU) is the negotiator for the growers.
History
The British Sugar Corporation was a company that was formed in 1936, when the British parliament nationalisedNationalization
Nationalisation, also spelled nationalization, is the process of taking an industry or assets into government ownership by a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to private assets, but may also mean assets owned by lower levels of government, such as municipalities, being...
the entire sugar beet crop processing industry, under the banner of British Sugar Corporation. At this time there were 13 separate companies with 18 factories across the country. In 1972 it began selling its sugar products under the name of Silver Spoon.
In 1977 a rights issue
Rights issue
A rights issue is an issue of additional shares by a company to raise capital under a seasoned equity offering. The rights issue is a special form of shelf offering or shelf registration. With the issued rights, existing shareholders have the privilege to buy a specified number of new shares from...
decreased the government holding from 36% to 24%. It was taken over by Berisford International
Enodis
Enodis plc is a British company headquartered in Central London which manufactures foodmaking equipment. A former FTSE 250 Index constituent, since October 2008 the company has been a wholly owned subsidiary of the American machinery manufacturer The Manitowoc Company...
in 1982 and in May of that year the company name was shortened to British Sugar plc.
It was sold on 2 January 1991 to Associated British Foods
Associated British Foods
Associated British Foods plc is a global food, ingredients and retail company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. Its ingredients division is the world's second largest producer of both sugar and baker's yeast and a major producer of other ingredients including emulsifiers, enzymes and lactose...
(ABF) after a crash in property values affected Berisford. ABF had attempted to purchase in the late 1980s but the stockmarket downturn had stopped their move.
Change
Due to need for continued efficiency in the face of changes to the European Sugar Regime, there has been significant reorganisation within the company. The most noticeable is that the number of factories has been reduced over the years. Closures at some sites have resulted in the expansion of active plant processing periods ("campaigns") at others. One of the cost effective measures is to increase the front end processing of sugar beet up to the "thick juice" stage (a syrup). This is stored in tanks and processed out of season spreading the load on the crystallisation stages which do not have to be uprated.Closure
In 1981 the ElyEly, Cambridgeshire
Ely is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, England, 14 miles north-northeast of Cambridge and about by road from London. It is built on a Lower Greensand island, which at a maximum elevation of is the highest land in the Fens...
, Felsted
Felsted
Felsted is linked to Little Dunmow by the Flitch Way Country Park, a former railway line. The village has links to Lord Riche who founded the public school, The Felsted School, in 1564, and is buried in Holy Cross Church. Lord Riche was an important benefactor of the Felsted church. The school also...
, Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
and Selby
Selby
Selby is a town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. Situated south of the city of York, along the course of the River Ouse, Selby is the largest and, with a population of 13,012, most populous settlement of the wider Selby local government district.Historically a part of the West Riding...
factories closed after a reduction in the allowed sugar quota. This was followed by the closure of a site at Spalding
Spalding, Lincolnshire
Spalding is a market town with a population of 30,000 on the River Welland in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. Little London is a hamlet directly south of Spalding on the B1172 road....
in 1989, Peterborough
Peterborough
Peterborough is a cathedral city and unitary authority area in the East of England, with an estimated population of in June 2007. For ceremonial purposes it is in the county of Cambridgeshire. Situated north of London, the city stands on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea...
and Brigg
Brigg
Brigg is a small market town in North Lincolnshire, England, with a population of 5,076 in 2,213 households . The town lies at the junction of the River Ancholme and east-west transport routes across northern Lincolnshire...
in 1991, King's Lynn
King's Lynn
King's Lynn is a sea port and market town in the ceremonial county of Norfolk in the East of England. It is situated north of London and west of Norwich. The population of the town is 42,800....
in 1994, Bardney
Bardney
Bardney is a village and Civil Parish east of Lincoln, sitting on the north side of the River Witham in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England.-The village:...
and Ipswich
Ipswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
in 2001, Kidderminster
Kidderminster
Kidderminster is a town, in the Wyre Forest district of Worcestershire, England. It is located approximately seventeen miles south-west of Birmingham city centre and approximately fifteen miles north of Worcester city centre. The 2001 census recorded a population of 55,182 in the town...
in 2002, and Allscott
Allscott
Allscott is a small village to the west of Wellington, Shropshire. The River Tern flows by. It falls within the parish of Wrockwardine and the borough of Telford and Wrekin. Nearby is the small village of Walcot....
and York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
in 2007. The site at Allscott, which opened in 1927, near Telford
Telford
Telford is a large new town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, approximately east of Shrewsbury, and west of Birmingham...
, Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
, was closed because it "lacked scale" to be run economically, while the site at York, North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
(opened 1926) was closed due to the poor crop yields in northern England
Northern England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North or the North Country, is a cultural region of England. It is not an official government region, but rather an informal amalgamation of counties. The southern extent of the region is roughly the River Trent, while the North is bordered...
.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/england/5145582.stm
Of the 18 factories which were owned by the British Sugar Corporation, it currently only processes beet at four - Bury St Edmunds, Cantley, Norfolk
Cantley, Norfolk
Cantley is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. Cantley is within the Broads Special Protection Area. The village lies on the north bank of the River Yare, some 17 km east of the city of Norwich, 15 km south-west of the town of Great Yarmouth and the same distance...
(the first British sugar factory, 1912), Newark-on-Trent
Newark-on-Trent
Newark-on-Trent is a market town in Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands region of England. It stands on the River Trent, the A1 , and the East Coast Main Line railway. The origins of the town are possibly Roman as it lies on an important Roman road, the Fosse Way...
and Wissington, Norfolk
Wissington, Norfolk
Wissington in Norfolk is the site of British Sugar's largest refinery in the UK, it is also the largest in Europe. There has been a sugar factory there since 1925; however none of the rest of the village remains, other than the name. British Sugar has opened the UK's first bioethanol plant...
near Stoke Ferry
Stoke Ferry
Stoke Ferry is a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk, 6.5 miles south-east of Downham Market. The village lies on the River Wissey which has also been known as the River Stoke....
. The Newark and Bury sites are also major packaging plants for Silver Spoon. The 12 sites already closed have been sold and decommissioned to various degrees - many large concrete silos (for storing the major product, white granulated sugar) still remain even where the sites have been closed, including those at the Kidderminster
Kidderminster
Kidderminster is a town, in the Wyre Forest district of Worcestershire, England. It is located approximately seventeen miles south-west of Birmingham city centre and approximately fifteen miles north of Worcester city centre. The 2001 census recorded a population of 55,182 in the town...
factory which was closed in 2002 and was sold off in 2006, and Ipswich. Allscott has now been completely demolished. Spalding has been replaced by a gas fired power station.
BP
BP
BP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...
and DuPont
DuPont
E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company , commonly referred to as DuPont, is an American chemical company that was founded in July 1802 as a gunpowder mill by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont. DuPont was the world's third largest chemical company based on market capitalization and ninth based on revenue in 2009...
are working with British Sugar to build a bioethanol plant at BP's Hull site, per an announcement made on June 2007.