Symbol Biscuits Ltd
...(Lyons
Biscuits Ltd)
Apart from low volume wafer biscuits,
Lyons were not associated with biscuit
manufacture until 1938 when they secured
nearly 54 per cent of the Bee Bee Biscuit
Company, which they bought from Lesme Ltd,
a couverture company founded by Leslie
Atwell, a grandson of Isidore Gluckstein.
Bee Bee Biscuits had originated in 1922 as
the Blackpool Biscuit Company. Selling its
brandy snap and Shrewsbury biscuits
locally, it quickly expanded and in 1924
not only introduced travelling salesmen
but had to move to larger premises. In
1931 Lesme, which were based in Willesden,
London, acquired control of the company
and, as chairman, Atwell moved the
registered office to London, while
production continued at Blackpool. Eight
and a half acres of land was purchased in
1932 and a new factory building was
erected in Devonshire Road, Blackpool, to
which production transferred two years
later. Bee Bee became one of the pioneers
of pre-packed biscuits, which up until
1933 had largely been sold loose or in
tins. In June 1944 Lyons incorporated
Symbol Biscuits Ltd and on 1 April 1950
the company changed its name back to Bee
Bee Biscuits Ltd. In January 1968 the
sales team were fully integrated with the
Tea Division salesmen.
Symbol
manufactured approximately forty different
types of sweet, dry and savoury biscuits
packed and sold under the Symbol and Lyons
brands, its logo being an elephant's head.
A wide variety of customers' own labels
were packed for sale in stores and
supermarkets both in the UK and overseas.
Their introduction of Maryland Cookies in
1956 brought a significant increase in
revenues.
During the
1964/5 financial year the Company made an
offer for the outstanding 11.71% interest
in Symbol Biscuits Limited (which had
changed its name again in the meantime),
for £112,653 which was satisfied in
cash. The Company took the advice of
Lazard Brother & Co in fixing the
price which would be fair and reasonable
as between holders of the outstanding
shares in Symbol as vendors and the
Company as purchasers. Certain of the
Directors had an interest in 31,383
shares.
In 1976,
when a Viennese Whirl plant was installed,
cake was added to Symbol's biscuit lines.
The firm that had begun life as the
Blackpool Biscuit Company had a final
change of name in 1990 when it became
Lyons Biscuits Ltd. It continued to trade
profitably until 17 December 1994 when the
business was sold to a subsidiary of
Hillsdown Holdings plc as part of asset
disposals for an undisclosed sum, thought
to be £20 million. At the time 780
people worked at the Blackpool
factory.
Since then
it has been acquired by a US investment
house and is currently part of Burton's
Foods Ltd, the second largest biscuit
company in the UK.
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