FBC UK Ltd

Who owns FBC UK Ltd?
FBC UK Ltd is ultimately owned by CTH Invest S.A., a Belgian holding company affiliated with the Ferrero Group. CTH Invest acquired Fox's Biscuits in 2020 and Burton's Biscuits in 2021 before merging them in 2022 to form FBC UK. Giovanni Ferrero is the controlling shareholder of the broader Ferrero Group. FBC UK is a private limited company and does not trade publicly on any stock exchange.

What brands does FBC UK own?
FBC UK owns five primary branded biscuit lines: Fox's Biscuits (premium cookies and Party Rings), Wagon Wheels (marshmallow-filled chocolate biscuits), Jammie Dodgers (jam-filled sandwich biscuits), Maryland cookies (the UK's leading chocolate chip cookie brand), and Party Rings (iced ring biscuits). These brands are among the most recognized biscuit names in the United Kingdom.

What is FBC UK's revenue?
FBC UK reported revenue of approximately £638 million for the financial year ending 31 August 2024. UK sales accounted for approximately £586.5 million, while rest-of-Europe revenue was approximately £43.2 million. The company grew like-for-like sales by 11 percent and returned to underlying profitability in FY2024. These figures are from accounts filed at Companies House.

When was FBC UK founded?
FBC UK was formed in March 2022 through the merger of Fox's Biscuits and Burton's Biscuits. The legal name Fox's Burton's Companies (FBC) UK Limited was officially registered on 28 March 2024. However, the constituent businesses have much longer histories: Fox's Biscuits was founded in 1853 and Burton's Biscuits traces its roots to 1935.

Who makes Wagon Wheels in the UK?
Wagon Wheels are produced in the United Kingdom by FBC UK Ltd at its bakery in Llantarnam, South Wales. The biscuit was invented in 1948 by William Peschardt, who sold the patent to Garry Weston of the Weston baking family. Production moved from the original Slough factory to Llantarnam in the early 1980s. In Australia, Wagon Wheels are produced by Arnott's Biscuits, and in Canada by Dare Foods Limited, under separate ownership.

Is FBC UK part of Ferrero?
FBC UK is part of the CTH Invest Group, which is affiliated with the Ferrero Group. CTH Invest S.A. is a Belgian holding company that owns Ferrara Candy Company in the United States, FBC UK in the United Kingdom, the Fine Biscuits Company in Europe, and Michel et Augustin in France. The CTH Invest Group reported consolidated revenue of EUR 3 billion for its 2023/2024 financial year. Ferrero Group and its affiliates are the world's third largest chocolate confectionery company and second largest in sweet biscuits.

How many people does FBC UK employ?
FBC UK employs approximately 1,600 people across its bakery operations in England, Scotland, and Wales. The exact headcount is not separately disclosed in public filings, but the company operates multiple production facilities and is the second largest branded biscuit manufacturer in the UK. This figure is an estimate based on the scale of operations.

FBC UK is a young corporate entity built from two old businesses. The merger that created it closed in March 2022, but the constituent companies trace their origins to the 19th century.

Fox's Biscuits was founded in 1853 in Yorkshire. The company began as a small bakery and grew over decades into one of Britain's most recognized biscuit brands. Fox's became known for its premium cookies, chocolate-covered biscuits, and Party Rings. By the early 21st century, Fox's was producing more than six billion biscuits annually from its facilities in northern England.

Burton's Biscuits has roots in the Burton's Biscuit Company, established in 1935. The company's history is connected to the Weston family baking dynasty. George Weston had built one of Britain's largest biscuit operations by the mid-1940s through Associated British Foods (ABF). Burton's produced several iconic brands including Jammie Dodgers, Maryland cookies, and Wagon Wheels.

Wagon Wheels deserve their own historical note. The biscuit was invented in 1948 by William Peschardt, a British food technologist who sold the patent to Garry Weston, son of W. Garfield Weston. Garry Weston placed two Marie biscuits around a marshmallow filling and coated the result in chocolate. The product launched at the 1948 Olympia Food Fair in London as the "biggest chocolate biscuit bar." The name referenced the Wild West, which was popular in mass media at the time. Production began at the Weston factory in Slough, which had been baking biscuits since 1934.

In 2000, Associated British Foods sold its Burton's Foods business, severing the Weston family connection. The original Slough factory that produced Wagon Wheels was closed in the early 1980s, and production transferred to a modern facility in Llantarnam, South Wales. By 1971, the Llantarnam factory had produced its one billionth Wagon Wheel.

Wagon Wheels spread internationally through the Weston family's global operations. In Australia, Wagon Wheels were produced by the Weston Biscuit Company from the early 1950s. George Weston Foods sold the Australian Wagon Wheels brand to Arnott's Biscuits in August 2003. In Canada, Wagon Wheels were originally produced by McCormick's and are now made by Dare Foods Limited. The UK, Australian, and Canadian versions are produced by separate companies under separate ownership but share a common origin.

Burton's Biscuits changed hands several times before arriving at Ferrero. After ABF sold the business in 2000, it passed through various private owners. In 2013, the Canadian investment firm Onex Partners acquired Burton's Biscuit Company in a deal reported at approximately £300 million. Onex held the business for several years before selling to a Ferrero-affiliated entity in 2021.

Fox's Biscuits followed a different path. The business was part of Northern Foods, a UK food manufacturer, until 2 Sisters Food Group acquired Northern Foods in 2011. In 2015, 2 Sisters agreed to a partial sale of Fox's Biscuits. The Ferrero-affiliated company CTH Invest acquired Fox's Biscuits in 2020 in a deal reported at approximately £246 million.

The merger of Fox's and Burton's under CTH Invest was announced in early 2022 and completed on 28 March 2022. The combined entity was initially called Fox's Burton's Companies (FBC) UK. CEO Simon Browne led the integration. The official legal name change from Burton's Foods Limited to Fox's Burton's Companies (FBC) UK Limited was registered at Companies House on 28 March 2024.

In FY2024, the financial year ending 31 August 2024, FBC UK reported strong results. Revenue reached approximately £638 million, up from approximately £595 million in the prior year. UK sales grew from £544 million to £586.5 million, while rest-of-Europe turnover rose from £39.3 million to £43.2 million. The company returned to underlying profitability and grew its UK market share. Branded portfolio sales were up 20.6 percent on a like-for-like basis, with volume growth of 4.2 percent against a wider market growth of just 1 percent.

The CTH Invest Group, FBC UK's ultimate parent, reported consolidated revenue of EUR 3 billion for its 2023/2024 financial year ending 31 August 2024. The group includes Ferrara Candy Company in the United States, the Fine Biscuits Company in Europe, FBC UK, and Michel et Augustin in France. Ferrero Group and its affiliates are the world's third largest player in chocolate confectionery and hold the second position globally in sweet biscuits.

FBC UK's sustainability strategy is aligned with the broader CTH Invest Group and Ferrero Group framework. As a private company within a larger corporate group, FBC UK does not publish a standalone sustainability report. The CTH Invest Group and Ferrero Group publish consolidated ESG disclosures that cover environmental impact, responsible sourcing, and social initiatives across their affiliated companies.

Ferrero Group has committed to sourcing 100 percent certified sustainable cocoa through Rainforest Alliance and Fairtrade. Ferrero is a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). These commitments extend to FBC UK's supply chain through the group's procurement policies. However, the extent to which FBC UK's specific biscuit ingredients (flour, sugar, chocolate coating, marshmallow) are covered by these certifications is not separately disclosed.

Packaging is a focus area for the biscuit industry. Biscuit packaging typically involves plastic wrappers and cardboard boxes, which present recycling challenges. FBC UK has not publicly disclosed specific packaging reduction targets or recyclable packaging commitments as a standalone entity. The Ferrero Group has set targets for making all packaging reusable, recyclable, or compostable by 2025.

FBC UK is not a Certified B Corporation. The company has not publicly disclosed carbon emissions targets, Scope 1, 2, or 3 emissions data, or net-zero commitments as a standalone entity. These metrics, where reported, are included in the CTH Invest Group's consolidated disclosures.

FBC UK has not faced major regulatory actions or public controversies that are separately documented from its parent group. The company operates within the UK food manufacturing regulatory framework, which is overseen by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and local environmental health authorities.

The broader UK biscuit and confectionery industry has faced scrutiny over sugar content in processed foods. The UK government's sugar reduction programme, overseen by Public Health England (now the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities), has set targets for reducing sugar in products aimed at children. Biscuits are included in this programme. FBC UK's products, particularly Jammie Dodgers and Wagon Wheels, are sweet biscuits that fall within the scope of these targets. The company has not been individually singled out for non-compliance, but the industry-wide pressure to reformulate products remains a factor.

Food inflation and shrinkflation have been topics of public discussion in the UK. Some biscuit manufacturers have reduced product sizes while maintaining prices in response to rising input costs. There is no specific public record of FBC UK being criticized for shrinkflation, but the broader industry trend has attracted media and consumer attention.

The company's ownership by Ferrero through the CTH Invest structure has drawn some attention from competition regulators. The European Commission and UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) reviewed the Ferrero acquisitions of Fox's and Burton's. The merger of the two businesses created a significant player in the UK biscuit market, but the deals were cleared without requiring divestitures.