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Pleasure Foods
Ltd
(Golden Egg
Franchise Limited)
Pleasure
Foods Limited was incorporated on 3 May
1957 to handle the franchise operations of
its Wimpy Bars. Its Memorandum of
Association stated: 'to carry on the
business of providing advice and technical
assistance and other services in
connection with the production of
foodstuffs and the operation of hotels,
restaurants and snack bars and the
exploitation of any of the patents, trade
marks or other rights held by the Company
whether relating to the production of
foodstuffs or any other goods or processes
whatsoever'.
Pleasure
Foods Ltd was a wholly owned subsidiary of
Wimpy International Ltd who in turn were
owned by J. Lyons & Co. Hence the
company did not have to make their
accounts available since officially its
services were provided without
remuneration in connection with its
business of franchising Wimpy Bars. The
directors appointed at incorporation were
three J. Lyons & Co company
secretaries, Dennis Byron (Assistant
Company Secretary), Maurice Cook
(Chartered Secretary) and Philip Dyer
(Chartered Secretary). In 1958 Neil Salmon
and John Worthington (Sales Manager) were
appointed Directors and in December 1964
Pleasure Foods Ltd opened a new head
office at 214 Chiswick High Road. In July
1977 this office was closed and the
company's head office reverted to Cadby
Hall. In August 1977 they occupied
premises in Syon Lane, Isleworth,
Middlesex. At about this time Zippy
Franchises Ltd became an Allottee of
Pleasure Foods Ltd but nothing is known of
this association.
Whereas
Wimpy International Ltd was the holding
company for Pleasure Foods Ltd the later
were responsible for the day-to-day
running of the Wimpy businesses in the
United Kingdom. They granted franchise
licences, provided advice on restaurant
siting, marketing, operating ideas and all
products; these were largely supplied by
the subsidiary companies of Lyons namely,
Bakery for buns and Henry Telfer for
hamburgers. By 1969 over 460 Wimpy
restaurants had been opened in the United
Kingdom.
Pleasure
Foods Ltd, who had been associated with
Philip and Reginald Kaye since 1958 as
franchisors of Wimpy Bars, had learned in
1965 that the brothers intended to expand
their Golden Egg restaurants (which they
ran alongside their Wimpy Bars) into the
provinces. They (Philip and Reginald Kaye)
opened restaurants close to the Wimpy Bars
they ran and originally called them Bacon
& Egg Restaurants but changed their
name to Golden Egg Restaurants Ltd when
their business became a limited company.
The Golden Eggs, as they were known, were
run on similar lines to those of Pleasure
Food Wimpy's but their décor and
menu were quite different and the two
different styles of operation appeared to
complement each other. Learning of the
Kaye's business expansion, Pleasure Foods
Ltd suggested that they run these
restaurants on a franchise basis through
Pleasure Foods Ltd and in 1965 a new
company - Golden Egg Franchises Ltd - was
formed with the original Golden Egg
Company and Pleasure Foods Ltd each taking
50% of the equity. The company expanded
fast taking franchise outlets in Aberdeen,
Bath, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Brighton,
Colchester, Coventry, Great Yarmouth,
Norwich and Liverpool. The target consumer
market was the medium spending-niche with
meals costing five to six shillings per
head.
Eric
Cadwgan took over as Sales Director of
Golden Egg in April 1968 after 11 years
with Pleasure Foods Ltd and several years
before that with the Ice Cream Department.
The site selection of the Golden Eggs was
the responsibility of Pleasure Food's
Estates Department under the guidance of
Alan Green. The provincial Golden Eggs had
a more subdued décor than the
original restaurants in London. They were
designed by Golden Egg Franchises'
Operation Manager, Tony Collins, and his
assistant John Hill in conjunction with
the Kaye brothers. The cost of conversion
varied between £14,000 to
£20,000 with shop-fitting taking
about eight weeks.
With the
success of the Golden Egg Franchises,
Pleasure Foods started another operation
which they called, Bake n' Take Ltd.
Little is known of this operation but it
was sold in December 1976 to United
Biscuits (Holdings) Ltd with the Wimpy and
Golden Egg restaurants.
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