Ranjit Singh Boparan
Encyclopedia
Ranjit Singh Boparan is a British businessman, the founder and owner of 2 Sisters Food Group
with his wife Baljinder Singh Boparan. Known as the "Chicken King" in the West Midlands, he has an estimated person fortune of £190M.
, West Midlands
, Ranjit left school aged 16 with few qualifications. He started working in a butchers shop, and founded 2 Sisters Food Group in 1990 with a small bank loan. Still resident today in the West Midlands, he began expanding West Bromwich
-based 2 Sisters Food Group through its holding company Boparan Holdings, which he jointly owns with his wife. Boparan insists on a low public profile and "doesn't do interviews with the media".
In November 2006, the couples then 19 year old son Antonio was prosecuted after his Range Rover Sport
left one year old Cerys Edwards with severe brain damage, after his car hit the Jeep
her parents were driving at 70 miles per hour (31.3 m/s) on the wrong side of a 30 miles per hour (13.4 m/s) single-track road. He was the first person convicted under English & Welsh law from evidence recovered from his cars Event Data Recorder
system, concealed in the drivers airbag
. Antonio was sentenced in April 2008 to 21 months in jail for dangerous driving
, at Birmingham Crown Court.
, 1 in Poland
, and 1 in the United States
. The group employees over 7,000 people, and annual sales now exceed £650 million. It is listed on the Sunday Times Top Track 250
.
In April 2010, the group announced the agreed acquisition of Dutch-based chicken processor Storteboom Group, with facilities in Holland and Poland.
Producing mainly own-brand products for supermarket
s and retailers, inclduing Tesco
, Waitrose
and Marks & Spencer
, it also owns the heritage Buxted brand (based on the former World War II
RAF airbase RAF Bungay
), and the Devonshire Red free range
chicken (bought from Lloyd Maunder
in January 2008).
announced it was merging with Irish ready-made meals supplier, Greencore
. According to industry web site, just-food.com, the company's shares rose more than 20% that day. The new company was to be called Essenta, with headquarters in Ireland but listed on the London Stock Exchange
.
However, after building up a 25% share holdings, on 21 January 2011 Ranjit Singh Boparan announced a £341M bid to buy Northern Foods, which succeeded in gaining sufficient shareholder support to proceed. This resulted in the appointment of Boparan as the company's Chairman in April 2011. On 13 May 2011 the company was delisted from the London Stock Exchange, and taken private under Boparan Holdings.
sold its its specialist airports and railways division SSP for to EQT Partners of Sweden, including the Harry Ramsden's
fish and chip shop chain. After attempting a turnaround under new MD Chris Sullivan in 2008, on 19 January 2010 SSP sold Harry Ramsden's to Boparan Ventures Ltd, the private investment vehicle of Ranjit Singh Boparan. BVL announced plans to open another 100 units in the next five years, and create 600 new jobs.
2 Sisters Food Group
2 Sisters Food Group is a West Bromwich, England based chicken meat processing company.Established in 1993 by Chief Executive, Ranjit Singh Boparan, as a frozen retail cutting operation, it has through acquisition expanded to cover 13 manufacturing sites in the UK, 1 in the Netherlands, and 1 in...
with his wife Baljinder Singh Boparan. Known as the "Chicken King" in the West Midlands, he has an estimated person fortune of £190M.
Early and personal life
Educated in BirminghamBirmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, West Midlands
West Midlands
West Midlands may refer to:* West Midlands , a region in England* West Midlands , the metropolitan county in the West Midlands region* West Midlands conurbation, the large conurbation in the West Midlands region...
, Ranjit left school aged 16 with few qualifications. He started working in a butchers shop, and founded 2 Sisters Food Group in 1990 with a small bank loan. Still resident today in the West Midlands, he began expanding West Bromwich
West Bromwich
West Bromwich is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, in the West Midlands, England. It is north west of Birmingham lying on the A41 London-to-Birkenhead road. West Bromwich is part of the Black Country...
-based 2 Sisters Food Group through its holding company Boparan Holdings, which he jointly owns with his wife. Boparan insists on a low public profile and "doesn't do interviews with the media".
In November 2006, the couples then 19 year old son Antonio was prosecuted after his Range Rover Sport
Range Rover Sport
The Range Rover Sport is a luxury-type sport utility vehicle produced by the Jaguar Land Rover business unit of India's Tata Motors.-Chassis:...
left one year old Cerys Edwards with severe brain damage, after his car hit the Jeep
Jeep
Jeep is an automobile marque of Chrysler . The first Willys Jeeps were produced in 1941 with the first civilian models in 1945, making it the oldest off-road vehicle and sport utility vehicle brand. It inspired a number of other light utility vehicles, such as the Land Rover which is the second...
her parents were driving at 70 miles per hour (31.3 m/s) on the wrong side of a 30 miles per hour (13.4 m/s) single-track road. He was the first person convicted under English & Welsh law from evidence recovered from his cars Event Data Recorder
Event Data Recorder
An event data recorder or EDR is a device installed in some automobiles to record information related to vehicle crashes or accidents. In modern diesel trucks, EDRs are triggered by electronically sensed problems in the engine , or a sudden change in wheel speed. One or more of these conditions...
system, concealed in the drivers airbag
Airbag
An Airbag is a vehicle safety device. It is an occupant restraint consisting of a flexible envelope designed to inflate rapidly during an automobile collision, to prevent occupants from striking interior objects such as the steering wheel or a window...
. Antonio was sentenced in April 2008 to 21 months in jail for dangerous driving
Dangerous driving
Dangerous driving is a statutory offence in England and Wales and Scotland and Northern Ireland. It is also a term of art used in the definition of the offence of causing death by dangerous driving...
, at Birmingham Crown Court.
Boparan Holdings
Boparan Holdings is the group company, which owns all of the couples subsidiary holdings. The Boparans are very keen on training and developing their workforce, proud of their record of putting employees through NVQs on factory and farm production. They are also proud of the high standards of animal welfare and food safety among their partner companies and suppliers.2 Sisters Food Group
Founded in 1993 as a frozen retail cutting operation, it has through acquisition expanded to cover 13 manufacturing sites in the UK, 1 in the NetherlandsNetherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, 1 in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, and 1 in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The group employees over 7,000 people, and annual sales now exceed £650 million. It is listed on the Sunday Times Top Track 250
Top Track 250
The Top Track 250 is a list published by British newspaper The Sunday Times each year ranking Britain's top 250 Mid-market private companies by their turnover over the previous year, from published accounts.- Sunday Times 2010 Top Track 250 :...
.
In April 2010, the group announced the agreed acquisition of Dutch-based chicken processor Storteboom Group, with facilities in Holland and Poland.
Producing mainly own-brand products for supermarket
Supermarket
A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
s and retailers, inclduing Tesco
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
, Waitrose
Waitrose
Waitrose Limited is an upmarket chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom and is the food division of the British retailer and worker co-operative the John Lewis Partnership. Its head office is in Bracknell, Berkshire, England...
and Marks & Spencer
Marks & Spencer
Marks and Spencer plc is a British retailer headquartered in the City of Westminster, London, with over 700 stores in the United Kingdom and over 300 stores spread across more than 40 countries. It specialises in the selling of clothing and luxury food products...
, it also owns the heritage Buxted brand (based on the former World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
RAF airbase RAF Bungay
RAF Bungay
RAF Bungay is a former World War II airfield in England. The field is located 2 miles SW of Bungay in Suffolk on the south bank of the Waveney River close to the B1062 Harleston to Bungay road....
), and the Devonshire Red free range
Free range
thumb|250px|Free-range chickens being fed outdoors.Free range is a term which outside of the United States denotes a method of farming husbandry where the animals are allowed to roam freely instead of being contained in any manner. In the United States, USDA regulations apply only to poultry and...
chicken (bought from Lloyd Maunder
Lloyd Maunder
Lloyd Maunder are an Exeter, Devon based group of West Country retail butchers, a major producer of locally reared beef, pork and chicken products.-History:...
in January 2008).
Northern Foods
Following a period of asset disposal, on 17 November 2010 Northern FoodsNorthern Foods
Northern Foods Ltd is a British food manufacturer headquartered in Leeds, England. It was formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE SmallCap Index. The company was scheduled to merge with Greencore Group in 2011 to form Essenta Foods, the group being...
announced it was merging with Irish ready-made meals supplier, Greencore
Greencore
Greencore Group plc is a food company in Ireland.It was established by the Irish Government in 1991 to take over Irish Sugar, the nationalised sugar production company. 55% of the group was listed on the Irish Stock Exchange that year, over the years additional placements have led to almost 100%...
. According to industry web site, just-food.com, the company's shares rose more than 20% that day. The new company was to be called Essenta, with headquarters in Ireland but listed on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
.
However, after building up a 25% share holdings, on 21 January 2011 Ranjit Singh Boparan announced a £341M bid to buy Northern Foods, which succeeded in gaining sufficient shareholder support to proceed. This resulted in the appointment of Boparan as the company's Chairman in April 2011. On 13 May 2011 the company was delisted from the London Stock Exchange, and taken private under Boparan Holdings.
FishWorks
FishWorks operates in a similar manner to 2 Sisters, but within the fish processing market.Harry Ramsden's
In April 2006, Compass GroupCompass Group
Compass Group plc is a global contract foodservice and support services company headquartered near London, United Kingdom. It is the largest contract foodservice company in the world and has operations in over 50 countries...
sold its its specialist airports and railways division SSP for to EQT Partners of Sweden, including the Harry Ramsden's
Harry Ramsden's
Harry Ramsden's is a fast food restaurant chain based in the United Kingdom which offers fish and chips and assorted themed dishes. The business has 35 owned and franchised outlets throughout the UK and Ireland and serves around four million meals annually....
fish and chip shop chain. After attempting a turnaround under new MD Chris Sullivan in 2008, on 19 January 2010 SSP sold Harry Ramsden's to Boparan Ventures Ltd, the private investment vehicle of Ranjit Singh Boparan. BVL announced plans to open another 100 units in the next five years, and create 600 new jobs.