Cranswick plc

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British food producer

title: "Cranswick plc" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["companies-based-in-kingston-upon-hull", "food-and-drink-companies-established-in-1972", "food-manufacturers-of-the-united-kingdom", "companies-listed-on-the-london-stock-exchange", "1972-establishments-in-england", "companies-in-the-ftse-250-index"] description: "British food producer" topic_path: "geography/united-kingdom" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cranswick_plc" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary British food producer ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox company"]

FieldValue
nameCranswick plc
logoCranswickplclogo.PNG
logo_size300px
former_nameCranswick Mill Group p.l.c. (19721991)
typePublic
traded_as
key_people{{Ubl
industryFood
revenue£2,723.3 million (2025)
operating_income£190.6 million (2025)
net_income£134.3 million (2025)
num_employees12,268 (2025)
foundation1972
locationHull
hq_location_countryEngland
homepage
::

| name = Cranswick plc | logo = Cranswickplclogo.PNG | logo_size = 300px | former_name = Cranswick Mill Group p.l.c. (19721991) | type = Public | traded_as = | key_people = {{Ubl | Tim Smith (Chairman) | Adam Couch (CEO) | industry = Food | products = | revenue = £2,723.3 million (2025) | operating_income = £190.6 million (2025) | net_income = £134.3 million (2025) | num_employees = 12,268 (2025) | parent = | subsid = | footnotes = | foundation = 1972 | location = Hull | hq_location_country = England | homepage = | slogan =

Cranswick plc is a United Kingdom food producer and supplier of premium, fresh and added-value food products. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

History

Cranswick was founded by Jim Bloom, Mike Field and twenty-one other East Riding of Yorkshire farmers producing pig feed under the name Cranswick Mill in 1972. The company subsequently diversified into food production. It was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1985. In 1993 Cranswick diversified into pet products with the purchase of George Buckton and then, in 2009, sold its pet products business. The company moved back to breeding and rearing its own British pigs after acquiring East Anglian Pigs Limited and livestock and assets from Dent Ltd in 2013.

Cranswick has developed through a combination of acquisitions and subsequent organic growth, enabling the company to build upon its philosophy of working with artisan producers to provide premium, market leading products to a much wider audience. The company now serves its customers from twelve production facilities across the UK.

On 25 July 2016, the company announced it had sold The Sandwich Factory Holdings Ltd for £15 million to Greencore.

Animal abuse

On 11 March 2023, a site rearing pigs for Cranswick gained media attention after video emerged showing pigs living in squalor with others being left for hours to die. Footage showed bins filled with dead pigs and animals cannibalising each other.

On 1 April 2024, footage emerged from a Cranswick site in Norfolk showing workers hitting pigs in the face and back before they entered a carbon dioxide gas chamber. After reviewing the footage the RSPCA stated "alternatives to CO2 [gas chambers] need to be developed as a matter of urgency and we urge the UK government to follow the EU's lead to seek a phase-out by investing in research to find a more humane alternative". Protesters occupied the site on 3 April 2024.

In May 2025 undercover filming at a Red Tractor certified pig farm operated by the company observed numerous examples of cruelty including piglets being killed by being grabbed by their hind legs and smashed on to the floor.

In August 2025 further undercover footage from another Red Tractor certified Cranswick facility documented numerous examples of pigs being routinely struck with force and going without necessary veterinary care when injured.

Acquisitions

  • 2001: Continental Fine Foods
  • 2003: Cranswick plc acquires The Sandwich Factory
  • 2005: Perkins Chilled Foods
  • 2006: Delico, a cooked meats producer
  • 2009: Bowes of Norfolk
  • 2012: Kingston Foods, a cooked meats business
  • 2013: East Anglian Pigs Ltd and Dent Ltd, pig rearing businesses
  • 2014: Benson Park, a premium cooked poultry business
  • 2016: CCL Holdings Limited and Crown Chicken Limited, a leading integrated poultry producer
  • 2016: Dunbia Ballymena, a leading Northern Irish pork processing business
  • 2019: Katsouris Brothers, a London-based Mediterranean food producer
  • 2021: Ramona's Kitchen (Watford-based Ramona manufacturer of plant-based dips and Mediterranean foods) and Atlantica UK (Exeter-based importer of continental produce)

Operations

Cranswick produces fresh pork, gourmet sausages, cooked meat, air-dried bacon, premium cooked poultry, charcuterie, sandwiches and gourmet pastry products. The company's brands include Bodega, Weight Watchers, Woodall's, Simply Sausages, Red Lion Foods and the Black Farmer. Cranswick's core market is the UK but the company has a rapidly developing export business serving the European, United States and South East Asian markets.

In 2021, Cranswick acquired two small plant-based food businesses for £6.4 million, Ramona's Kitchen and Atlantica UK, to expand its non-meat product range in a fast-growing sector.

References

References

  1. (29 September 1972). "Cranswick PLC overview – Find and update company information – GOV.UK".
  2. "Annual Report 2025". Cranswick PLC.
  3. "London Stock Exchange: Case studies".
  4. (29 June 1993). "Cranswick Mill Group acquires George Buckton". Thomson M&A.
  5. (20 May 2014). "Cranswick expands pig farming". The Telegraph.
  6. "Preliminary Results 2013". Cranswick.
  7. (25 July 2016). "Greencore Announces £15m Bolt-On Acquisition In UK Food To Go – Greencore".
  8. (24 July 2016). "Greencore buys Cranswick's sandwich business".
  9. Farhoud, Nada. (11 March 2023). "Grim lives of farmed pigs forced to live in squalor and left for hours to die".
  10. Dalton, Jane. (3 April 2024). "Pigs hit in face before 'agonising' CO2 death at supplier for Tesco, Asda, Aldi and M&S". The Independent.
  11. (3 April 2024). "Protesters arrested at Cranswick Country Foods in Norfolk". [[BBC News]].
  12. Butler, Sarah. (11 May 2025). "UK supermarkets suspend supplies from Lincolnshire pig farm over cruelty claims". The Guardian.
  13. (17 August 2025). "Revealed: covert footage appears to show more alleged pig abuse at Cranswick farm".
  14. (30 July 2001). "Cranswick plc acquires Continental Fine Foods". Thomson M&A.
  15. "The Sandwich Factory". Food Chain Magazine.
  16. (21 December 2004). "Cranswick buys division of Perkins Foods". The Grocer.
  17. (2 November 2006). "Cranswick buys cooked meats producer Delico for £17.9m". Europe Intelligence Wire.
  18. (6 April 2009). "Cranswick snaps up Bowes of Norfolk". The Grocer.
  19. (3 July 2012). "Cranswick profits from 'quick service' trade". The Telegraph.
  20. (30 April 2013). "Cranswick snaps up East Anglian Pigs". Meat Info.
  21. (24 October 2014). "Cranswick gobbles up Yorkshire cooked poultry product firm". City A.M..
  22. (11 April 2016). "UK sausage maker Cranswick buys Crown Chicken for £40m". FT.
  23. (16 November 2016). "Cranswick acquires Dunbia Ballymena". Meat Management.
  24. (29 July 2019). "Cranswick in £43.5m swoop for Katsouris Brothers". Food Manufacture.
  25. (23 November 2021). "Cranswick picks up two Mediterranean food firms". JustFood.
  26. "Cranswick Company Profile". Bloomberg.
  27. "Cranswick plc". Financial Times.
  28. (8 April 2014). "Hull food firm Cranswick sets sights on Asia sales". Hull Daily Mail.
  29. Laister, David. (24 November 2021). "Cranswick adds to non-meat portfolio with two plant-based food business buy-outs". Reach.

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companies-based-in-kingston-upon-hullfood-and-drink-companies-established-in-1972food-manufacturers-of-the-united-kingdomcompanies-listed-on-the-london-stock-exchange1972-establishments-in-englandcompanies-in-the-ftse-250-index