Ross Group
Encyclopedia
The Ross Group was a British
food company founded in Grimsby
, England
in 1920.
The Ross brand remains common in the retail frozen fish market. David Ross
, the co-founder and significant shareholder in mobile telephone retailer The Carphone Warehouse
, is the grandson of J Carl Ross
.
Originally a small family-owned fish merchanting company, Ross diversified into trawling
, fish processing
, and later into food processing
in general, expanding into factory farming
to become the largest chicken producer in Europe by 1962 via a series of takeovers. The company bought out rival Young's in 1959 and, after a series of takeovers and mergers and de-mergers, forms part of what is now Young’s Bluecrest, the UK's largest company in the frozen fish sector. The company's history is also Grimsby's industrial history.
By the outbreak of World War II, the company operated fish merchanting branches in Leeds
, Leicester
, and Fleetwood
as well as its Grimsby
base.
At its peak the Group owned the largest fishing fleet in Europe, with eight trawler fleets. The company also acquired its own shipyard, which began building the company's vessels. In 1960, in England there were around 600 fishing trawlers. In the mid-1960s it had 65 vessels, the second largest fleet in England, after Associated Fisheries.
(150 tonnes), which was claimed to be the world's largest catch of deep sea fish
; it would be enough fish for one million meals. By the end of the 1950s it was landing 100 million lbs of fish per year; at this time, Ross Group was a subsidiary of Trawlers Grimsby - in March 1959, the company changed its name to Ross Group, and all food was now branded under this name. In October 1965, it opened a division in Holland with Eurofrost NV called Ross Diepvres in Breda
, to distribute and make its products in the Dutch market.
from 1948, where they had fruit and vegetables - garden pea
s; it was bought completely by Ross in 1954, bought by United Biscuits
in 1999 and it is now owned by Heinz
since 2000. Potato chip
s were introduced in 1962. It bought Grimsby Motors in June 1959, Sterling Poultry (broiler chicken) in May 1961, and Waterworth Brothers (fruitshops) in August 1964.
In the mid-1960s, its businesses were, in order of turnover: poultry; frozen foods; fish trawling and distribution; fresh foods other than fish; motors, transport, and vessel construction; chemicals and agricultural services; and overseas business. They were the largest fish distributors in the UK and worth £27 million in 1965.
In the mid-1960s, a new £430,000 11-storey headquarters was built in Grimsby by Myton, a division of Taylor Woodrow
. The building, still in use as the head offices of Young's Bluecrest
and known as 'Ross House', dominates the southern wall of the town's once thriving fish docks.
gained control in September 1969; the company had offered £47.5 million for Ross on 6 August 1969. While Carl Ross was in control Ross Group had diversified into non-fish foodstuffs such as Ross frozen food
. While the non-fish food companies were subject to several further takeovers, the Ross fishing fleet was acquired by British United Trawlers by a merger with Associated Fisheries organised by the Industrial Reorganisation Corporation on 2 April 1969; Ross had tried to buy this company in 1961, then bid £15.5 million in December 1965, and £17 million in January 1966. The bid was referred to the Monopolies Commission, and rejected in May 1966.
By the 1970s, the three largest producers of frozen food were Birds Eye
(UK), Findus
(who opened a plant in Grimsby in June 1960) and Ross Group. By 1973, Findus and Ross were selling £41 million of goods per year, and Birds Eye sold £109 million. Ross Poultry was producing around £4 million per year, with its Buxted (now based in Suffolk
) and Premier Farm brands.
On 16 March 1988 the company was bought by United Biscuits
for £335 million.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
food company founded in Grimsby
Grimsby
Grimsby is a seaport on the Humber Estuary in Lincolnshire, England. It has been the administrative centre of the unitary authority area of North East Lincolnshire since 1996...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1920.
The Ross brand remains common in the retail frozen fish market. David Ross
David Ross (businessman)
David Peter John Ross , is an English businessman, co-founder with school friend Charles Dunstone of The Carphone Warehouse. At peak valuation of his business interests, Ross was one of the 100 richest people in the United Kingdom. A profile in The Daily Telegraph put his current net worth at...
, the co-founder and significant shareholder in mobile telephone retailer The Carphone Warehouse
The Carphone Warehouse
Carphone Warehouse Group PLC , known as The Carphone Warehouse, is Europe's largest independent mobile phone retailer, with over 1,700 stores across Europe. It is based in the United Kingdom and is a 50% subsidiary of Best Buy...
, is the grandson of J Carl Ross
Carl Ross
Carl Ross was a fishery entrepreneur and architect of the forerunner company to Young's Bluecrest, the UK's largest frozen fish producer.-Biography:...
.
Originally a small family-owned fish merchanting company, Ross diversified into trawling
Trawling
Trawling is a method of fishing that involves pulling a fishing net through the water behind one or more boats. The net that is used for trawling is called a trawl....
, fish processing
Fish processing
The term fish processing refers to the processes associated with fish and fish products between the time fish are caught or harvested, and the time the final product is delivered to the customer...
, and later into food processing
Food processing
Food processing is the set of methods and techniques used to transform raw ingredients into food or to transform food into other forms for consumption by humans or animals either in the home or by the food processing industry...
in general, expanding into factory farming
Factory farming
Factory farming is a term referring to the process of raising livestock in confinement at high stocking density, where a farm operates as a factory — a practice typical in industrial farming by agribusinesses. The main products of this industry are meat, milk and eggs for human consumption...
to become the largest chicken producer in Europe by 1962 via a series of takeovers. The company bought out rival Young's in 1959 and, after a series of takeovers and mergers and de-mergers, forms part of what is now Young’s Bluecrest, the UK's largest company in the frozen fish sector. The company's history is also Grimsby's industrial history.
Beginnings
It was registered as Thomas Ross Ltd in 1920 in Grimsby. In 1929, Carl Ross became Chairman and Managing Director when his father retired.By the outbreak of World War II, the company operated fish merchanting branches in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
, and Fleetwood
Fleetwood
Fleetwood is a town within the Wyre district of Lancashire, England, lying at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 26,840 people at the 2001 Census. It forms part of the Greater Blackpool conurbation. The town was the first planned community of the Victorian era...
as well as its Grimsby
Grimsby
Grimsby is a seaport on the Humber Estuary in Lincolnshire, England. It has been the administrative centre of the unitary authority area of North East Lincolnshire since 1996...
base.
Trawling
Starting with a small fleet of four fishing vessels in the 1930s, Ross diversified into trawling from 1934. The acquisition of a major shareholding in Trawlers Grimsby in 1944 was followed by several other fishing fleets such as the Queen Steam Fishing Company. In 1956 Carl Ross took over G F Sleight Ltd, which employed 20 of the best trawler skippers in Britain, and began building trawlers in his latest acquisition - the Cochrane Shipyards of Selby. These were the famous 'Cat' and 'Bird' class trawlers. In 1960/1, the Ross Group took over the Rinovia Steam Fishing Company Ltd.Rinovia Steam Fishing Company Ltd.
Rinovia Steam Fishing Company Ltd. was a large fishing company operating from Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England. It specialized in deep-water fishing in the Icelandic grounds, and was responsible for handling Icelandic vessels landing their catch in Grimsby. It was also closely associated with the...
At its peak the Group owned the largest fishing fleet in Europe, with eight trawler fleets. The company also acquired its own shipyard, which began building the company's vessels. In 1960, in England there were around 600 fishing trawlers. In the mid-1960s it had 65 vessels, the second largest fleet in England, after Associated Fisheries.
Fishing fleet
Ships in the Ross fleet included:- Ross TigerRoss TigerThe Ross Tiger is a traditional side-winder fishing trawler that was converted into a museum ship in 1992. She is currently berthed in Alexandra Dock at her home port of Grimsby, close to the site of the former PS Lincoln Castle. She forms the star attraction of North East Lincolnshire County...
(1957 - Cat Class) first of the 'Cat Class' and preserved as a trawler at Grimsby's National Fishing Heritage CentreNational Fishing Heritage CentreThe Fishing Heritage Centre is a museum at Alexandra Dock, Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England, opened in 1991. It depicts the 1950s heyday of the distant waters fishing fleet. The centre also hosts a programme of temporary exhibitions throughout the year. Tours of the fishing trawler Ross Tiger are...
. - Ross Leopard (Oct 1957 - Cat Class) still in existence and currently up for sale
- Ross Jaguar (Dec 1957 - Cat Class) converted into a three masted schooner with her name contracted to 'Jaguar'
- Ross Kashmir (1957 - K Class), later acquired much greater worldwide fame as a replacement for GreenpeaceGreenpeaceGreenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
's 1955-built Rainbow Warrior, and became the Rainbow Warrior II in 1989. Greenpeace is currently having a third Rainbow WarriorRainbow Warrior (2011)The Rainbow Warrior is a purpose-built motor-assisted sailing yacht owned and operated by Greenpeace and intended for use in their activities such as environmental protests and scientific excursions...
purpose-built. - MV Ross Revenge (1960)
- Ross Cleveland - involved in the Hull triple trawler tragedy (1968)Hull triple trawler tragedy (1968)The Hull triple trawler tragedy was the sinking of three trawlers from the British fishing port of Kingston upon Hull during January and February 1968. A total of 58 crew members died, with just one survivor...
Fish processing
In October 1953, George Dawson began importing Icelandic fish, when the Ingólfr Arnarson trawler landed; this was opposed by the company and the Grimsby Fish Merchants' Association. Imports Icelandic fish had been officially banned. In October 1954, the company chartered the Norwegian steamer Norfrost to import £40,000 worth of HalibutHalibut
Halibut is a flatfish, genus Hippoglossus, from the family of the right-eye flounders . Other flatfish are also called halibut. The name is derived from haly and butt , for its popularity on Catholic holy days...
(150 tonnes), which was claimed to be the world's largest catch of deep sea fish
Deep sea fish
Deep sea fish is a term for any fish that lives below the photic zone of the ocean. The lanternfish is, by far, the most common deep sea fish. Other deep sea fish include the flashlight fish, cookiecutter shark, bristlemouths, anglerfish, and viperfish....
; it would be enough fish for one million meals. By the end of the 1950s it was landing 100 million lbs of fish per year; at this time, Ross Group was a subsidiary of Trawlers Grimsby - in March 1959, the company changed its name to Ross Group, and all food was now branded under this name. In October 1965, it opened a division in Holland with Eurofrost NV called Ross Diepvres in Breda
Breda
Breda is a municipality and a city in the southern part of the Netherlands. The name Breda derived from brede Aa and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. As a fortified city, the city was of strategic military and political significance...
, to distribute and make its products in the Dutch market.
Diversification
By the early 1960s, Ross's holdings included poultry, frozen and fresh foods, including fish, as well as its fish trawling, merchanting, and other operations. Yet the company's trawling operations, which by then represented just 5 percent of group sales, had become perennial money-losers. Ross also had a factory at Westwick, NorfolkWestwick, Norfolk
Westwick is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk, situated to the south of North Walsham.It covers an area of and had a population of 72 in 33 households as of the 2001 census....
from 1948, where they had fruit and vegetables - garden pea
Pea
A pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the pod fruit Pisum sativum. Each pod contains several peas. Peapods are botanically a fruit, since they contain seeds developed from the ovary of a flower. However, peas are considered to be a vegetable in cooking...
s; it was bought completely by Ross in 1954, bought by United Biscuits
United Biscuits
__FORCETOC__United Biscuits is a British multinational food manufacturer, makers of the BN biscuits, McVitie's biscuits, KP Nuts, Hula Hoops, The Real McCoy's crisps, Phileas Fogg snacks, Jacob's Cream Crackers, and Twiglets...
in 1999 and it is now owned by Heinz
H. J. Heinz Company
The H. J. Heinz Company , commonly known as Heinz and famous for its "57 Varieties" slogan and its ketchup, is an American food company with world headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.Perhaps best known for its ketchup, the H.J...
since 2000. Potato chip
French fries
French fries , chips, fries, or French-fried potatoes are strips of deep-fried potato. North Americans tend to refer to any pieces of deep-fried potatoes as fries or French fries, while in the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand, long, thinly cut slices of deep-fried potatoes are...
s were introduced in 1962. It bought Grimsby Motors in June 1959, Sterling Poultry (broiler chicken) in May 1961, and Waterworth Brothers (fruitshops) in August 1964.
In the mid-1960s, its businesses were, in order of turnover: poultry; frozen foods; fish trawling and distribution; fresh foods other than fish; motors, transport, and vessel construction; chemicals and agricultural services; and overseas business. They were the largest fish distributors in the UK and worth £27 million in 1965.
In the mid-1960s, a new £430,000 11-storey headquarters was built in Grimsby by Myton, a division of Taylor Woodrow
Taylor Woodrow
Taylor Woodrow was one of the largest British housebuilding and general construction companies. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but merged with rival George Wimpey to create Taylor Wimpey on 3 July 2007.-Early years:Frank Taylor was...
. The building, still in use as the head offices of Young's Bluecrest
Young's Bluecrest
Young's Seafood Ltd. is a British producer and distributor of frozen, fresh, and chilled seafood, supplying approximately 40% of all the fish eaten in the United Kingdom every year. It is headquartered in Grimsby, England....
and known as 'Ross House', dominates the southern wall of the town's once thriving fish docks.
Takeover
Carl Ross left the Ross Group after an acrimonious board room struggle in 1965 and, as a direct result of this, Imperial TobaccoImperial Tobacco
Imperial Tobacco is a global tobacco company headquartered in Bristol, United Kingdom. It is the world’s fourth-largest cigarette company measured by market share , and the world's largest producer of cigars, fine-cut tobacco and tobacco papers...
gained control in September 1969; the company had offered £47.5 million for Ross on 6 August 1969. While Carl Ross was in control Ross Group had diversified into non-fish foodstuffs such as Ross frozen food
Frozen food
Freezing food preserves it from the time it is prepared to the time it is eaten. Since early times, farmers, fishermen, and trappers have preserved their game and produce in unheated buildings during the winter season. Freezing food slows down decomposition by turning water to ice, making it...
. While the non-fish food companies were subject to several further takeovers, the Ross fishing fleet was acquired by British United Trawlers by a merger with Associated Fisheries organised by the Industrial Reorganisation Corporation on 2 April 1969; Ross had tried to buy this company in 1961, then bid £15.5 million in December 1965, and £17 million in January 1966. The bid was referred to the Monopolies Commission, and rejected in May 1966.
By the 1970s, the three largest producers of frozen food were Birds Eye
Birds Eye
__FORCETOC__Birds Eye is an international brand of frozen foods owned by Pinnacle Foods in North America and by private equity group Permira in Europe....
(UK), Findus
Findus
Findus is a company that produces and retails frozen food. Its products include Crispy Pancakes, which were invented in the early 1970s.- Origins :...
(who opened a plant in Grimsby in June 1960) and Ross Group. By 1973, Findus and Ross were selling £41 million of goods per year, and Birds Eye sold £109 million. Ross Poultry was producing around £4 million per year, with its Buxted (now based in Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
) and Premier Farm brands.
On 16 March 1988 the company was bought by United Biscuits
United Biscuits
__FORCETOC__United Biscuits is a British multinational food manufacturer, makers of the BN biscuits, McVitie's biscuits, KP Nuts, Hula Hoops, The Real McCoy's crisps, Phileas Fogg snacks, Jacob's Cream Crackers, and Twiglets...
for £335 million.
Further reading
- Votteler, T. (2003). International directory of company histories. Detroit: St. James Press. ISBN 978-1-55862-476-4