Hillards plc was a small supermarket chain from the North of England, bought out in a hostile takeover by Tesco in May 1987.
History
The company was founded by John Wesley Hillard in 1885, in the West Yorkshire town of Cleckheaton.[1] The first shop was opened in Lion Chambers there, and shortly after 1900, there were twenty shops operating as Lion Stores.[1] By 1951, there were over seventy stores, and by 1968, it had warehouse size stores in Wakefield, Lincoln and York.[1]
In 1970, the trade name Lion Stores was dropped in favour of Hillards and in 1972, the company was first listed on the London Stock Exchange.[1] Peter Hartley, a grandson of the founder, became executive chairman in 1983 and in May 1987, following a hostile bid, the business was acquired by Tesco for £220m.[2][3][4]
External links
References
- Hillards Charitable Trust retrieved 2006-09-08^
- Tim Clark. A history of Tesco: The rise of Britain's biggest supermarket Telegraph Media Group Limited, 15 April 2008, retrieved 13 February 2009^
- TESCO profits are estimated to have risen The Guardian p. 25, 17 March 1987^
- THE TESCO camp in the takeover battle for Hillards The Guardian p. 27, 29 April 1987^