Famous British brands that are foreign-owned
Anna Tobin
24 May 2018
The household names in foreign hands
From Harrods to Marmite, a number of our most successful homegrown brands have been snapped up by foreign companies. We look at the iconic names that were born in Britain but have been sold to firms overseas.
Rolls-Royce cars are German
Henry Royce began his electrical and mechanical business in England in 1884. He built his first motor car in 1904 and shortly after entered into a partnership with Charles Rolls, who had a London car sales business. The Rolls-Royce company was then established in 1906 and at the start of World War I moved into aeroplane engines, earning an international reputation for quality engineering.
Rolls-Royce cars are German
When Rolls-Royce got into financial difficulties in 1971 it was taken into state ownership. Then in 1980, it was bought by British engineering firm Vickers, before Volkswagen paid £340 million ($456m) for the company in 1998. But since the start of 2003 BMW have produced Rolls-Royce cars, paying Volkswagen £40 million ($53.5m) for the presitgious name and marque.
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Cadbury is American
John Cadbury started with a grocery store in Birmingham, England in 1824, selling cocoa and drinking chocolate, which he made himself with a pestle and mortar. He was a Quaker and believed that drinking chocolate was a healthy alternative to alcohol. Eventually he began producing drinking chocolate and cocoa on a commercial scale. His sons later took over the business and added chocolate bars to the product line. It was such a success that in 1919 Cadbury bought rival brand Frys.
Cadbury is American
In 1969 Cadbury merged with drinks company Schweppes, but they demerged in 2008. Then in 2010 US food giant Kraft reportedly paid £11.9 billion ($16.25bn) for the confectionary firm. Kraft is the world's second-largest food company after Nestle.
Walkers is American
Butcher Henry Walker started making crisps in 1948 when post-war meat rationing forced him to diversify. In the 1950s the firm successfully began experimenting with different flavoured crisps and soon Walkers was Britain's most successful snack-food brand.
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Walkers is American
The Walkers brand, including the world's largest crisp factory in Leicester, England, was briefly owned by US cookie manufacturer Nabisco and French firm BSN (now called Danone). But in 1989 US food giant Pepsi Co. snapped up Walkers for a reported $2.5 billion (£1.83bn).
Lea & Perrins is American
As the name suggests, Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce was created in Worcestershire. It was devised by chemists John Wheeley Lea and William Henry Perrins in 1837. They didn't like the taste at first and didn't give the barrels they had created a second thought. But, 18 months later they rediscovered the sauce which had mellowed and tasted fantastic. The sauce is still bottled in Worcester, made to a secret recipe that's still left to mature for 18 months.
Lea & Perrins is American
Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce became part of the Hanson Group and it was sold along with the other products in the group to French food producer Groupe Danone in 1988 for £199 million ($271.8m). The sauce, along with other brands including Daddies, was sold by Danone to US food giant Heinz in June 2005 for £470 million ($641.9m).
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Tetley is Indian
As it says on its logo, Tetley Tea was established by brothers Joseph and Edward Tetley in Yorkshire, England in 1837. In 1856 they moved the business to Cullum Street in the City of London to be next to the tea auction rooms, then the centre of the global tea trade. Joseph Tetley junior joined the company in 1871 and by 1888 it had entered the US market.
Tetley is Indian
Having been under a series of different ownerships, Tetley Tea was bought by Tata Tea of India in 2000. Tata Tea is part of the vast Indian conglomerate Tata. The acquisition was said to be worth £271 million ($370m) and was the largest deal in India's history.
Dulux is Dutch
In 1931 the newly merged chemical company Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) Paints Limited developed its first paint range in Slough, England. They named it Dulux, a combination of durable and luxury. By 1948 Dulux was the country's leading paint brand and it was further boosted by the craze for DIY home improvements that began in the late twentieth century.
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Dulux is Dutch
In 2008 Akzo Nobel acquired ICI and Dulux became part of the Dutch-based paints and coatings company. The deal was said to have been worth $16.2 billion (£11.86bn) and created the world's largest paint manufacturer.
Lyle's Golden Syrup is American
In 1881 Abram Lyle built a sugar refinery on the banks of the River Thames in east London. The treacly syrup he named Lyle's Golden Syrup was a by-product of the sugar refinery process and it became very popular among Londoners. Lyle began selling it in the famous green and gold tin, a design that remains to this day.
Lyle's Golden Syrup is American
In 1921 Henry Tate & Sons and Abram Lyle & Sons merged to create Tate & Lyle. Between them they refined around 50% of the UK’s sugar. In 2010 Tate & Lyle sold its European sugar refinery business, which included Lyle's Golden Syrup, to American Sugar Refining, Inc. for a reported £211 million ($288m).
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Jaffa Cakes are Turkish
Robert McVitie started his bakery in Edinburgh in the early nineteenth century. His son later took over, expanded the business and bought in a partner, Charles Price, to create McVitie & Price. McVitie’s Digestives, McVitie’s Chocolate Digestives, Jaffa Cakes and Penguin bars all became part of the product line. In 1948 the company merged with rival Macfarlane Lang and together they became known as United Biscuits.
Jaffa Cakes are Turkish
Turkish food conglomerate Yildiz Holding paid an estimated £2 billion ($2.73bn) for United Biscuits in 2014. Yildiz Holding is the world’s third largest biscuit manufacturer and the largest food and beverage company in Turkey. It owns over 320 brands in 49 different categories.
Harvey Nichols is owned by a Hong Kong-based company
In 1831 Benjamin Harvey opened a linen shop on the corner of Knightsbridge and Sloane Street in London. He expanded into neighbouring properties and when he died in 1850 his wife Anne went into partnership with James Nichols and Harvey Nichols & Co. was formed. in 1919 the store was bought by rival retailer Debenhams.
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Harvey Nichols is owned by a Hong Kong-based company
In 1991 Harvey Nichols was bought by Dickson Poon of Dickson Concepts (International) Ltd, a Hong Kong-based company incorporated in Bermuda for £53 million ($71m). The brand now has seven UK stores and seven international stores - two in Turkey, one in Riyadh, one in Dubai, two in Hong Kong and one in Kuwait.
Sarson's vinegar is Japanese
In 1794 Thomas Sarson founded his vinegar business in London's Craven Street, near Charing Cross. During the twentieth century the company saw steep growth. In 1913 Sarson's was brewing over a million gallons of vinegar a year, rising to five million gallons by 1950. By 1940 Sarson's was the only licensed vinegar brewery left in the UK as all its competitors had fizzled out.
Sarson's vinegar is Japanese
British food manufacturer Premier Foods purchased Sarson's in 2002. Premier Foods then sold its Sarson's vinegar brand and Haywards pickles businesses to Japanese food producer Mizkan in 2012. The deal was reported to be worth £41 million ($56m).
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Kit Kat is Swiss
Henry Rowntree opened his confectionary factory in York, England in 1862. Rowntree's developed many sweets and chocolates that became household names such as Jelly Tots, Fruit Pastilles and Kit Kat. In 1965 the company merged with its rivals Mackintosh.
Kit Kat is Swiss
In 1988 Rowntree Mackintosh was snapped up by Swiss food conglomerate Nestle. The deal was said to be worth $4.5 billion (£3.3bn). Kit Kats are still made in York, but they are also produced in factories all over the world and one of the most globally known chocolate bars.
Wall's ice cream is Dutch
London butchers T. Wall & Sons Ltd originally made sausages when the business started in 1786. But in 1913 its chairman Thomas Wall decided to boost summer sales by diversifying into ice cream. World War I put a halt to this idea, but ice cream was added to the product line 1922. In the same year British multinational Lever Brothers bought Wall's.
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Wall's ice cream is Dutch
In 1929 Lever Brothers merged with Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie and together they become Unilever. Unilever currently has offices in the UK and the Netherlands but has announced plans to move its headquarters to Rotterdam. Wall's, however, remains one of its core companies.
Marmite is Dutch
German scientist Justus Liebig was the first to realise that concentrated brewers' yeast was good to eat back in 1902. The Marmite Food Factory was established in Burton-upon-Trent in Staffordshire, England, with the town selected because it was surrounded by many breweries where Marmite's raw ingredients could be sourced easily. Wondering how it got its name? It was packaged in a jar that resembled a French earthenware cooking pot called a 'marmite'.
Marmite is Dutch
In 1990 Marmite became a subsidiary of Bovril Ltd. Bovril was subsequently bought by US-based CPC International. CPC International renamed itself as Bestfoods Inc. and this merged with Unilever in 2000 in a deal worth £17 billion ($25bn).
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Mini is German
Designer Sir Alex Issigonis developed the original Mini for the British Motor Corporation (BMC) in the 1950s. The Mini sparked a revolution in compact cars and other manufacturers soon started adding smaller vehicles to their production lines.
Mini is German
The Mini was later produced by British Leyland and then the Rover Group. When the Rover Group was bought by BMW in 1994, for £800m ($1.1bn) the iconic Mini was redesigned. The cult car was then relaunched in 2000 and a fully electric model is the latest design set to launch in 2019.
The Financial Times is Japanese
James Sheridan launched the Financial Times newspaper in 1888. It was an immediate success and in 1919 rival publisher Berry Bros. who at the time owned The Sunday Times, bought the paper. In 1945 it was taken over by Brendan Bracken, who merged the now famous pink paper with his Financial News. In 1957 Pearson purchased the Financial Times. It concentrated on growing the brand in new markets and it launched a European edition in 1979.
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The Financial Times is Japanese
Pearson grew to become one of the world's largest education and publishing companies and in 2015 it decided to sell its Financial Times Group to concentrate on education. Japanese media organisation Nikkei Inc. paid £844 million ($1.15m) for the brand with German publishing house Axel Springer just losing out on the deal.
House of Fraser is Chinese
In 1849 Hugh Fraser and James Arthur opened a drapery store in Glasgow, Scotland. The company gradually purchased several Scottish businesses and in 1941 it became House of Fraser. In 1953 the business expanded into north east England and in 1957 luxury London department store Harrods was added to the inventory. The Egyptian Al Fayed brothers bought House of Fraser in 1985.
House of Fraser is Chinese
In 2015 a majority stake in House of Fraser was bought by Chinese retail group Nanjing Xinjiekou Department Store Co. The deal was reported to be worth £450 million ($614m), although they are currently poised to offload their 51% stake in the retailer to Chinese fashion retailer C.banner.
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Hartley's Jam is American
When Lancashire greengrocer William Pickles Hartley had a consignment of jam go missing he decided to make his own to avoid disappointing his customers. It was so successful he continued the venture. Large scale production began in Bootle, near Liverpool In 1874. In 1884 the company incorporated as William Hartley & Sons Limited and in 1886 production was moved to Aintree. In 1890 a second factory was opened in London and by 1912 it was the world's largest jam maker.
Hartley's Jam is American
Soft drinks company Schweppes acquired William Hartley & Sons in 1959 for a reported £2 million ($2.7m). But that wasn't the end of the story. A management buyout followed and the jam business became a part of Premier Foods in 1981. The in 2012 Premier Foods sold its sweet spreads operation to US-based food business Hain Celestial, for an estimated £200 million ($273m).
Ella's Kitchen is American
Paul Lindley started premium baby and toddler food company Ella's Kitchen in 2005. He began supplying supermarket chain Sainsbury's in 2006 and soon other supermarkets began taking the line. The Oxfordshire-based brand grew to become the UK's best-selling baby food operation and it began selling around the world. In 2013, a year after Hain Celestial acquired British jam brand Hartley's, it bought Ella's Kitchen too for an estimated $103.5 million (£75.7m).
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Manchester United is American
English Premier League football club Manchester United started life as Newton Heath L&YR Football Club in 1878 – the works' team of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway depot in Newton Heath. In the 1892-1893 season the club made the first division, the highest league in the UK at the time. In 1902 the club was renamed Manchester United and in 1910 it moved to it current home in Old Trafford.
Manchester United is American
Manchester United became a public company in 1991 and American businessman Malcolm Glazer and his family slowly began buying shares in the business eventually owning 98% of the company by June 2005, worth around £790 million ($1.5bn). Malcolm Glazer passed away in 2014, but the Glazer family still hold the majority stake in the club.
Hamleys is Chinese
William Hamley opened Noah's Ark in London's Holborn in 1760. Crammed with toys, the shop was a magnet to the children of wealthy families living in the area. In 1881 a new branch, now called Hamleys, was opened in London's Regent Street. The store got into difficulties and it closed in 1931, only to be saved by rival toy producer Walter Lines, who bought the business and reopened the store, which soon began to thrive again.
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Hamleys is Chinese
In 2003 Hamleys was bought by Icelandic investment company Baugur Group in a £47.4 million ($64.7m) deal. Baugur collapsed in 2009 and Hamleys passed into the hands of Icelandic bank Landsbanki. In 2012 the toy store was taken over by French toy retailer Groupe Ludendo for a reported £60 million ($81.9m). In 2015, Chinese retailer C.banner bought Hamleys for £100 million ($136.6m).
Waterstones is American
Tim Waterstone opened his first Waterstones bookshop in London's Knightsbridge in 1982. It was very successful and quickly expanded and just over a decade later in 1993, the stationers WH Smith bought the chain for a reported £47 million ($64.2m).
Waterstones is American
In 1998 Tim Waterstone joined EMI and Advent Capital to buy Waterstones for around £300 million ($409 million) and it became part of the HMV group. In 2011 HMV decided to offload Waterstones, by now Britain's largest high street bookseller, and it was sold to Alexander Mamut, a Russian billionaire, for a reported £53.5 million ($72.4 million). In 2018 the company changed hands again and it's now owned by American Paul Singer's hedge fund, Elliott Advisors.
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Innocent is American
Three university friends Adam Balon, Richard Reed and Jon Wright sold their first three cases of smoothies to a local sandwich bar in 1999. Their first foray into mainstream retailers was in 2000 when the supermarket Waitrose agreed to trial their drinks. The drinks were such a hit they received a regular order. Between 2002 and 2007 the company expanded rapidly around Europe, with offices from Ireland to Germany.
Innocent is American
In 2009 Coca-Cola bought an 18% stake in Innocent. Then in 2013 the American drinks giant upped its stake to over 90%, giving it overall control of the company. The terms of the deal is not known, but the three founders are believed to have made substantial profits and are no longer involved in the day-to-day running of the company.
Beefeater gin is French
James Burrough bought a distillery in London's Chelsea in 1863 for £400 ($547). By 1876 he was producing many varieties of gin, including the now flagship brand Beefeater Dry Gin, named after the Tower of London's Beefeater guards.
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Beefeater gin is French
In 1987 Beefeater was sold to hospitality business Whitbread and then became part of Allied Domecq. In 2005 Beefeater Dry Gin became part of French drinks producer Pernod Ricard after they teamed up with US drinks firm Fortune Brands to buy and divide up Allied Domecq in a £7.4 billion ($10.11b) deal.
Newcastle Brown Ale is Danish
Colonel Jim Porter started producing Newcastle Brown Ale at the firm he worked for, Newcastle Breweries, in 1927. He rose up the company's ranks and when in 1960, the Newcastle upon Tyne-based Newcastle Breweries merged with Scottish Brewers, Porter became vice chairman of the newly formed Scottish & Newcastle.
Newcastle Brown Ale is Danish
In 1995 Scottish & Newcastle swallowed up competitor Courage, but in 2008 the firm was jointly acquired by Dutch brewer, Heineken and the Danish firm Carlsberg for £7.8 billion ($10.66bn). The two companies divided the business's brands between them and Heineken took control of Newcastle Brown Ale. Controversially Heineken moved production of the ale to the Netherlands in 2017.
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Harrods is Qatari
A British icon, Charles Henry Harrod started the company from one room in Knightsbridge in west London with a handful of staff selling groceries. The business flourished and by 1880 it had turned into a fully-fledged department store. Following a fire in 1883 Harrods was rebuilt in its current palatial form and became very popular with wealthy Londoners. It went public in 1889 and soon after expanded into banking and estate agency.
Harrods is Qatari
Harrods was taken over by rival Scottish department store chain House of Fraser in 1959. It then moved into Egyptian hands in 1985 when the Al Fayed brothers bought House of Fraser for £615 million ($841.5m). In 2010 the store changed hands again as Qatar's sovereign wealth fund reportedly paid £1.5 billion ($2 billion) for Harrods' brands, which included the stores, estate agency Harrods Estates and the charter aircraft service, Air Harrods.
READ MORE: 23 brands that have disappeared from UK high streets
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