Booker Group

{{Infobox company

| name = Booker Group Limited

| former_name = {{Ubl

| Blueheath Holdings Limited (June–July 2004)

| Blueheath Holdings plc (2004–2007)

| Booker Group plc (2007–2018){{Cite web |date=2004-06-04 |title=BOOKER GROUP LIMITED overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK |url=https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/05145685 |access-date=2023-08-06 |website=Companies House |language=en}}

}}

| type = {{Ubl

| Subsidiary

| Private Limited Company

}}

| traded_as =

| logo = Bookerlogo.png

| logo_size = 150px

| caption =

| foundation = {{Start date and age|1835}}

| defunct =

| location = Wellingborough, England

| key_people = {{Ubl

| Stewart Gilliland (Chairman)

| Andrew Yaxley (CEO)

}}

| revenue =

| operating_income =

| net_income =

| num_employees =

| parent = Tesco plc

| industry = Retail catering

| products = Cash and carry outlets

| subsid =

| homepage = {{url|https://booker.co.uk}}

}}

Booker Group Limited is a British wholesale distributor, and subsidiary of Tesco plc.{{cite web | url=http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/booker-cash-carry-ltd-history/ | title=Booker Cash & Carry Ltd. History | publisher=Funding Universe | work=International Directory of Company Histories, Vol.68. St. James Press, 2005. | access-date=13 December 2015}}

In January 2017, it was announced that the British multinational supermarket retailer Tesco had agreed to purchase the company for £3.7 billion. It was confirmed on 5 March 2018 that Tesco had completed its acquisition of Booker Group Limited.{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2018/03/05/tesco-completes-4bn-takeover-booker/|title=Tesco completes £4 billion acquisition of Booker|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=5 March 2018|access-date=16 July 2019}}

History

=Origins=

The company was founded by George and Richard Booker in 1835, when they bought their first ship and established the Booker Line, which focused on shipping goods.{{Cite web |url=http://www.bookerline.com/Booker%20Booklet.pdf |title=Booker Line 1835 – 1978, Page 2 |access-date=21 December 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081120041329/http://bookerline.com/Booker%20Booklet.pdf |archive-date=20 November 2008 |url-status=dead }} It later diversified into the distribution of goods, and gradually disposed of its fleet of ships. With a new focus on wholesale food distribution, the company had over 100 warehouses across the United Kingdom by 1978, and was trading as Booker McConnell Ltd.Booker Line 1835 – 1978, Page16

Among other interests, it operated the sugar industry in Guyana (British Guiana before independence in 1966), running five Booker Line ships, until it was nationalised around 1970. After six months, Booker was called back to market the sugar. Booker had a long history of exploitation of sugar workers through the indentured labour system during the 19th and 20th centuries (outright slavery was abolished in British Guiana before Booker's founding, but exploitative labour practices continued. All of the Booker brothers had claimed and received 'compensation' payments for their post 1815 Guiana slave holdings - see U.C.L. "Legacies of British Slave-ownership" index).

At its peak, it controlled 75% of the sugar industry in British Guiana and was so powerful that a common joke was to refer to the country as "Booker's Guiana".{{cite web | url=http://www.guyana.org/features/guyanastory/chapter112.html | title=The Bookers Empire | publisher=guyana.org | access-date=13 December 2015}}N. Draper, ‘Helping to make Britain great: the commercial legacies of slave-ownership in Britain’, in C. Hall, N. Draper, K. McClelland, K. Donington, and R. Lang, Legacies of British Slave-Ownership: Colonial Slavery and the Formation of Victorian Britain (2014), pp.78-126.

In 1952, Jock Campbell took over the chairmanship of the company and his Fabian social politics transformed it dramatically into a benevolent force providing major benefits for sugar workers.{{cite web | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituaries-lord-campbell-of-eskan-1566530.html | title=OBITUARIES: Lord Campbell of Eskan |newspaper=The Independent |first=Peter|last=Parker|date= 4 January 1995| access-date=13 December 2015}} Jock Campbell was also instrumental in the setting up of Booker's Author Division, which sponsored the Booker Prize.{{cite web|url=http://www.themanbookerprize.com/ |title=The Man Booker Prizes |publisher=Themanbookerprize.com |access-date=3 July 2015}}

=Expansion=

In 1986, the company set up a short-lived co-venture between the directors of Siriol Animation to create Kalisto.{{cite web | url=https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/01938752 | title=Booker Animation Limited | publisher=Companies House | access-date=13 December 2015}} Kalisto also developed a show called Space Baby (which eventually became Fantastic Max), along with another series called Satellite City (which was co-produced with Fairwater Films){{cite web | url=http://www.planete-jeunesse.com/fiche-1484-satellite-city.html | title=Satellite City | publisher=Planète Jeunesse | access-date=13 December 2015}} and the animated film The Little Engine That Could.{{cite web | url=https://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/29517/The-Little-Engine-That-Could/details | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222145017/http://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/29517/The-Little-Engine-That-Could/details | url-status=dead | archive-date=22 December 2015 | department=Movies & TV Dept. | work=The New York Times | date=2015 | title=The Little Engine That Could (1991) | access-date=13 December 2015}} Kalisto barely lasted a year before Booker bought the rights back.{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/company/co0103987/|title=Booker PLC|publisher=IMDb|access-date=8 April 2012}}

File:Cramner Bank Shops.jpg, Leeds]]

In November 1996, Booker bought Nurdin & Peacock, taking ownership of the convenience store operator and brand Happy Shopper. Happy Shopper's products are sold by Booker to independent convenience stores and off licences. In 2000, the brand's logo of a smiling face with blonde hair was dropped from products and packaging, as part of a redesign by Partners In Communication, a design consultant company.{{Cite news|url=http://www.picom.co.uk/packaging_1.html|title=Happy Shopper Brand Redesign|publisher=Partners In Communication|date=12 May 2009|access-date=12 May 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100114172207/http://www.picom.co.uk/packaging_1.html|archive-date=14 January 2010|url-status=dead}}

In May 2000, Booker was purchased by Iceland Supermarkets, via its Big Food Group vehicle.{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4109907.stm | title=Iceland in £373m Booker takeover | date=19 December 2004 | publisher=BBC | access-date=13 December 2015}} Then, in December 2004, Big Food Group was in turn bought by acquisitive Icelandic group, Baugur,{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4109907.stm |title=Baugur buys UK's Big Food Group |publisher=BBC News |date=19 December 2004 |access-date=3 July 2015}} which split Booker and Iceland again into different companies.{{cite web|url=http://www.foodanddrinkeurope.com/news/ng.asp?id=56926-bfg-agrees-to|title=BFG agrees to Baugur bid|publisher=Food & Drink|date=20 December 2004|access-date=6 April 2008}}

In June 2007, Booker reversed into an AIM listed wholesaler of groceries Blueheath, to form Booker Group plc.{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2007/05/12/cnbaug12.xml|title=Baugur profits plunge by more than two-thirds Box Head arrow to line with head|publisher=Daily Telegraph|date=12 May 2007|access-date=6 April 2008 | location=London | first1=Richard | last1=Fletcher}}{{dead link|date=July 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} Baugur sold all its assets in Booker Cash & Carry in June 2008,{{Citation| title = Baugur sells Booker stake as part of focus on retail| publisher = Retail Week| date = 24 June 2008| url = http://www.retail-week.com/Food/2008/06/baugur_sells_booker_stake_as_part_of_focus_on_retail.html|access-date = 27 December 2008 }} only weeks after its founder was found guilty of accounting irregularities.{{cite news|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKL0613066120080606|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120715065606/http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKL0613066120080606|url-status=dead|archive-date=15 July 2012|title=Baugur boss loses court appeal|date=6 June 2008|publisher=Reuters|access-date=20 November 2010}} Baugur collapsed in February 2009, amidst the Icelandic financial crisis.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7869342.stm |title=Hamleys investor seeks protection |publisher=BBC News |date=4 February 2009 |access-date=4 February 2009}}

In September 2009, Booker opened a store in Mumbai and planned to expand its cash and carry stores across India.{{cite news|url=http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/uks-cashcarry-plans-20-india-stores-in-5-yrs/467010/ |title=UK's cash & carry plans 20 India stores in 5 years|work=Business Standard|first=Nivedita|last=Mookerji|date=7 March 2012|access-date=8 April 2012}} In May 2012, Metro Group sold the thirty stores of Makro in the United Kingdom and all operational assets to Booker Group Plc, in return for 9.99% of Booker's share capital, plus £15.8 million in cash; although the merger was referred to the Office of Fair Trading it was cleared by the Competition Commission in April 2013.{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20140316023059/http://www.competition-commission.org.uk/assets/competitioncommission/docs/2012/booker-makro/final_report.pdf A report on the completed acquisition by Booker Group PLC of Makro Holding Limited]}}

In May 2015, Booker Group confirmed it had reached an agreement with Musgrave Group to buy the Budgens and Londis grocery chains, for £40 million.{{cite news|title=Booker Group to buy Budgens and Londis|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-32823462|access-date=21 May 2015|publisher=BBC News|date=21 May 2015}} In January 2017, Tesco announced that it had reached an agreement to merge with Booker Group for £3.7 billion, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38767862|title=Tesco to buy Budgens and Londis brand owner Booker|publisher=bbc.co.uk|date=27 January 2017|access-date=27 January 2017}} It was confirmed on 5 March 2018 that Tesco had completed its merger with Booker.{{Cite news|url=http://www.cityam.com/281666/done-deal-tesco-completes-gbp37bn-acquisition-booker-group|title=Done deal: Tesco completes £3.7bn merger with Booker Group|last=Cahill|first=Helen|date=5 March 2018|access-date=5 March 2018|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180305141734/http://www.cityam.com/281666/done-deal-tesco-completes-gbp37bn-acquisition-booker-group|archive-date=5 March 2018|url-status=dead}}

Criticism

Booker have been accused of forcing the closure of local businesses and shops through undercutting their prices in Tesco stores, the group's owner, while providing higher prices in their wholesale arm.{{Cite news |last=Butler |first=Sarah |date=2024-04-22 |title=Tesco accused of undercutting local shops via its wholesale business |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/apr/22/tesco-accused-of-undercutting-local-shops-via-its-wholesale-business |access-date=2024-04-22 |work=The Guardian}} Additionally, it has been accused of intentionally stopping deliveries of certain essential products to independent stores, in some cases reducing item selection by up to 30%.{{Cite news |last=Butler |first=Sarah |date=2024-03-22 |title=Tesco accused of using cash and carry to ‘squeeze’ village stores out of business |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/mar/22/tesco-accused-of-using-cash-and-carry-arm-booker-to-squeeze-village-stores-out-of-business |access-date=2024-04-22 |work=The Guardian}}

Operations

The company supplies approximately 1.5 million businesses across the United Kingdom, through its different divisions. It operates cash and carry branches throughout the United Kingdom (as well as a few in India) and operates a national delivery service in the United Kingdom.{{cite web|url=http://www.bookergroup.com/en/about-booker/what-we-do.aspx|title=What We Do|publisher=Booker Group|access-date=24 March 2015}} The industry journal The Grocer named Booker the "Green Wholesaler of the Year" at the Grocer Gold Awards.{{cite web | url=http://www.bookergroup.com/about-booker/business-overview.aspx | title=Business Overview | publisher=Booker | access-date=13 December 2015}}

The group consists of several divisions each specialising in different areas of the wholesale market in the United Kingdom:

class="wikitable"

|+Subsidiaries of Booker Group Limited (Tesco plc)

!Name

!Founded

!Description

Booker Wholesale Holdings Limited

|A cash and carry and delivery company in the United Kingdom.

Makro Self Service Wholesalers Limited

|A cash and carry and delivery company in the United Kingdom.

Booker Direct Limited

|A wholesale business catering for cinemas and HM Prison Service in the United Kingdom.

Classic Drinks Limited

|A wholesale business in the United Kingdom.

Ritter-Courivaud Limited

|A wholesale business catering for restaurants in the United Kingdom.{{cite web|url=http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/9890ede2-d7b1-11df-b478-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3uDCEBm61|title=Booker acquires Ritter for £14.5m|publisher=The Financial Times Ltd|access-date=13 December 2015}}

Premier Stores Limited

|a symbol group of independent convenience stores. The Premier name is owned by Booker Group with the stores owned by individuals who agree to a minimum spend each week with Booker Wholesale in exchange for business support and access to the branding.{{cite web|url=http://www.premier-stores.co.uk/join-us/the-package.html|title=Premier Stores package|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150407115647/http://www.premier-stores.co.uk/join-us/the-package.html|archive-date=7 April 2015|access-date=6 May 2015}}

Booker India

|{{cite web|url=http://bookerindia.net/aboutus.aspx|title=About Booker India|access-date=6 May 2015}}

Booker Retail Partners (GB) Limited

|{{cite web|url=http://www.bookergroup.com/~/media/Files/B/Booker-Group/pdf/investor-centre/reposts-presentations/rp2015/booker-londis-budgens-presentation-joining-forces.pdf|title=Joining forces to help independent retailers|date=21 May 2015|publisher=Bookers|access-date=17 April 2017}}

Booker Authors' Division

The company also founded, and was previously a sponsor of, the Booker Prize for literary fiction, which was established in 1968.{{cite web|title=Broker Group PLC|url=http://markets.ft.com/research/Markets/Tearsheets/Business-profile?s=BOK:LSE|access-date=6 July 2015|publisher=ft.com}} During Lord Campbell of Eskan's tenure as chairman of the company, then known as Booker–McConnell, he was also instrumental in the setting up of the Booker's Authors' Division. Lord Campbell of Eskan purchased 51 per cent of Glidrose Ltd, which owned the copyrights of his friend Ian Fleming for £100,000.

This purchase was the foundation of the Authors' Division,{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uariyzldrJwC&q=booker+dennis+wheatley&pg=PA371 | title=Ian Fleming's James Bond: Annotations and Chronologies for Ian Fleming's | access-date=13 December 2015 | author=Griswold, John | year=2006 | pages=371| publisher=AuthorHouse | isbn=9781425931001 }} which also acquired rights to some well known authors' works, such as Georgette Heyer, whose company, Heron Enterprises, with eighteen of her copyrights, Booker bought in 1966 for £80,000, Dennis Wheatley, and the 64% stake in Agatha Christie's works not controlled by her family. When, in 1968, Booker established the prestigious Booker Prize, it was with the money from the Fleming, Heyer and Christie purchases.

In June 1998, Agatha Christie's stakeholding was sold to Chorion for £10 million,{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/105749.stm | work=BBC News | title=Chorion grabs the Booker prize | date=3 June 1998}} who themselves sold it on in February 2012 to Acorn Media UK.{{cite web | url=https://deadline.com/2012/02/agatha-christie-estate-acquired-by-u-s-based-acorn-media-237820/ | title=Agatha Christie Estate Acquired By U.S.-Based Acorn Media | date=29 February 2012 | publisher=Penske Business Media, LLC. | access-date=13 December 2015}} The division also co founded and sponsored the prestigious Booker–McConnell Prize for literature in 1968, now known as Booker Prize. This was transferred to the independent Booker Prize Foundation in 2002, and became sponsored by the Man Group plc, who opted to retain the well known "Booker" name.

Chairmen of the Authors' Division have included Charles William Tyrrell (1960s–1970s), Dennis H. Joss (1970s–1980s) and Agatha Christie's grandson {{Proper name|Mathew}} Caradoc Thomas Prichard (1990s–2000s).{{cite book|title=Jane's Major Companies of Europe|publisher=Jane's Information Group}}