1980s and 1990s
In 1982, Linfood plc, later the Dee Corporation (Somerfield), made a takeover bid of £74 million for Fitch Lovell. The proposal was referred on 9 November 1982 to the Monopolies & Merger commission.[25] Eventually Linfood purchased the 101 Key Market Stores in 1983 for £44.8 million, after a battle with Safeway and merged them with their Gateway business.[26] Fitch Lovell sold West Gunner business to Vestey Group (Dewhurst) for £4m in 1984, although the chain now only had 100 stores.[27][28]
With the finance raised from the sale of Key Markets the West Gunner butcher shops, Favour Parker Poultry (£2.5 million), Marine Farming and animal feed firm Pilwood Feeds (for £2.5 million), Fitch Lovell purchased or created new business to grow its catering and production business.[29][30] In 1985, it bought Jacksons of Piccadilly owners of the supposedly original recipe from 1830 for Earl Grey tea[31] and promptly sold them on to Twinings. In 1984, it set up Buckingham Foods as a sandwich manufacturer,[32] while in 1988 it purchased UYC, a food services company from Guniness. In 1985, it also purchased the frozen fish group Bluecrest. In 1989, it was reported that Fitch Lovell had increased profit by 21%.[33] Other Fitch Lovell business were Farmers Table Chicken (based in Witham, Essex), Blue Cap (contract distribution), Stocks Lovell (bacon supplier to supermarkets), Dixons (pork processing), Newforge Foods of Gateacre, Liverpool, who held the licence to produce SPAM in the UK as well as L Noels in Oswaldtwistle.
In the late 1980s Fitch Lovell moved into new headquarters at 83 Turnmill Street, London but when the company was sold to Booker plc in 1990, the building was sold to Corps of Commissionaires for £1.7 million.[34]
Booker plc purchased the company in 1990 for £308 million,[35] and completed the merger into its business by 1991. Several of the subsidiaries were sold off, including Miller-Robirch (Kerry Group) while several transportation depots were closed.
