81
David Milner
CEO, Tyrrells
Last ranked: 79
Since being snapped up by Bahraini private-equity fund Investcorp for £100m in 2013, Tyrrells’ sales have rocketed by 20% in the UK – almost double the category average and almost double that globally. And there’s been no let up for Milner as Tyrrells signed its biggest ever export deal, with Australian retailer Coles, while Milner targets complementary acquisitions.
82
Robert Watson
CEO, Hilton
Last ranked: 81
Lower meat prices and unfavourable currency movements put a dampener on Hilton’s revenues in 2014, but the company’s status as one of Tesco’s most important strategic partners – responsible for packing its own-label meat – remains unchallenged and was recently expanded by Watson with a new, exclusive deal involving bigger volumes.
83
Jamie Oliver
Celebrity chef
Last ranked: NEW
Oliver’s campaigning spirit has dwindled in recent years, along with his involvement with supermarkets, but he returns after a three-year absence courtesy of wonky veg. Teaming up with his old school pal Jimmy Doherty, Oliver has led Asda to trial the sale of misshapen fresh produce after condemning the “criminal” levels of food waste in his new C4 series.
84
Tim Mead
CEO, Yeo Valley
Last ranked: NEW
Over the last 25 years, Mead has grown Yeo Valley from a £3m ‘hobby’ on the side of the family farm to a £300m operation delivering branded as well as own-label milk, yoghurt, butter and ice cream, and is surely Britain’s most successful organic entrepreneur.
He’s also proved a canny investor (he started professional life working at Yeo as an accountant), with his fingers in lots of pies, including the ready-to-eat bircher muesli cereal supplier Moma, and the up and coming yoghurt business The Collective.
Mead is never dull and is outspoken on industry issues like Tesco (he’s a fan) or 89p for four pints of milk (he’s not), and along the way he’s taken Yeo Valley from the small time to the big time, promoting the virtues of British business, while remaining fiercely independent and impervious to the overtures of acquisitive multinationals.
85
Andrew Cracknell
CEO, Noble Foods
Last ranked: NEW
Cracknell wasted little time establishing himself after taking over from Peter Thornton in January 2014. He relocated shell egg packing operations from Scotland and Lincolnshire to a new facility in Oxfordshire and then snapped up processor Mantons in his first few months. Sales of The Happy Egg Co also broke $10m in the US for the first time last year.
86
John Lynn
Managing director, MRH
Last ranked: NEW
Petrol has never played a bigger role in grocery, and top of the independent forecourt tree is MRH, which added more sites to its estate than any of its competitors in 2014 – even the highly acquisitive Euro Garages. But it also trimmed the fat, too, carrying out rationalisation, including the disposal of its commercial fuels arm. Both moves have made it stronger.
87
Nick Candler
COO, Pret A Manger
Last ranked: NEW
Record sales and a record number of store openings are just two of the achievements that Candler can point to since taking over as chief operating officer last year. Although heavy interest payments are crippling its profits, Pret, which has over 350 outlets in the UK, and around 80 split between America and Hong Kong, is also planning an expansion drive in France.
88
Ben Clarke
CEO, Burton’s
Last ranked: 47
Clarke was foiled in his attempts to acquire United Biscuits, and recent UK sales have been sluggish. But the recruitment of Stephen Carson as international business development director is an important development as Clarke looks to accelerate exports. He’s also announced a £5m investment at its ‘Cookie Centre of Excellence’ production site in Blackpool.
89
Edward Perry & Dale Penfold
Co-founders, Cook
Last ranked: NEW
When Perry and Penfold launched Cook in 1997, it was a new one for the industry. Posh frozen food just hadn’t been done before. But Cook quickly found a niche and has grown ever since, from that standing start to over 70 stores as well as franchises in supermarkets like Budgens. Still small, then, but its success was enough to prompt M&S to introduce its first range of frozen ready meals last year. And while Cook has developed a cosy middle class image, it has also shown itself to be agile and modern, trialling online in the form of click & collect and home delivery. It also redesigned its website, revamped its branding, and more expansion is on the cards after an enjoyable leap in pre-tax profits of 40% last year and a perky sales hike of 12.2%. Cook plans to start by expanding its home delivery service, which it will roll out across London after trials in South West London saw deliveries account for a fifth of sales.
90
Edwin Booth
Chairman, Booths
Last ranked: 95
Booths is set to expand its home delivery service this year – after successfully trialling it last year – and promises more stores, hinting intriguingly that Booths will even go down south. At any rate, the fifth generation Booth is in expansive mode on the marketing front, planning to attract new shoppers across the country with a targeted marketing campaign.
91
James Lancaster
Founder and chief executive, McColl’s
Last ranked: NEW
Having floated McColl’s on the Stock Exchange for £200m in 2014, Lancaster is well positioned to take further advantage of the burgeoning convenience market. McColl’s has grown to become the second largest player in the sector and this year said total sales rose 4.7% in the six weeks to 11 January after trading “resiliently.”
92
Trevor Strain
Group finance director, Morrisons
Last ranked: NEW
Strain had big shoes to fill when replacing Richard Pennycook in 2012, but has been quietly impressive, despite the troubles currently afflicting Morrisons. Strain has an ambitious plan to realise £1bn of savings over three years and is making solid progress. According to new chairman Andy Higginson, Strain is a future CEO in the making.
93
Jon Jenkins
MD, Twinings UK & Ireland
Last ranked: NEW
Tea is off the boil (the category is down 2.3%), but ABF’s Twinings bagged a 5% hike last year. Credit Jenkins: leading a reinvigorating of the market through premiumisation, innovation and diversification, he unveiled its “biggest NPD to date” last year with 16 loose leaf blends for retail and foodservice. A £10m campaign to back it up was announced this week.
94
Laurence Hene
Head of retail, Ocado
Last ranked: NEW
Hene originally joined Ocado in 2009 as head of corporate finance and investor relations, but since 2011 he’s been responsible for the trading, merchandising, own brand, marketing, creative and customer experience teams at the online grocer, and has been driving a lot of the innovative developments there. He is very well respected by suppliers.
95
Steve Lewis
CEO, Majestic
Last ranked: 73
Lowering its margins, Lewis was able to grow Majestic’s like-for-like sales over the all-important Christmas period, but its share price has tanked after heavy investment in prices hit the bottom line. Still, Lewis is planning ahead, opening a new distribution centre in Hertfordshire last July, twice the size of the previous one, designed to “future proof” the operation.
96
Ian York
CEO, Poundstretcher
Last ranked: NEW
York is a new entrant to discount retailing but not to the food and drink industry. At the sharp end of negotiations for 17 years at Premier Foods, he now plans to put his experience into action at Poundstretcher. His mission is to take on the Wilkos, B&Ms and Home Bargains of this world, and with bright sales growth over Christmas, York is off to a solid start.
97
Mark Fox
UK CEO, Starbucks
Last ranked: NEW
It’s got loads of stores but Starbucks is losing money in the UK – and that’s not just been down to ‘fees.’ Recent sales figures show a continuing slump. However, having moved its European HQ back to the UK, in 2013 Fox was brought in to improve its performance and – bringing 20 years retail experience to bear –plans to open 300 new stores.
98
Mohsin Issa
MD, Euro Garages
Last ranked: NEW
Issa has proved you don’t have to be an oil giant or a supermarket to succeed in forecourt retail. With its mix of food to go (Greggs, Subway and Starbucks), top up grocery and car wash/fuel, Euro acquired 48 new forecourts to boost sales by 47% (to £646m). Having secured strong financial backing, he’s now targeting £1bn and plans to create 1,750 jobs in 2015.
99
James Hill
CEO, Findus Group
Last ranked: NEW
Under Hill, Findus posted its second consecutive year of growth this week, generating EBITDA of £91m for the full year 2014 – up 4% year on year. Along with its recent acquisitions of Belgian brand Lutosa and the Spanish La Cocinera frozen ready-to-eat meals business from Nestlé, it signals a comeback for the group after testing times in the wake of Horsegate.
100
David Handley
Chairman, Farmers for Action
Last ranked: NEW
The Monmouthshire dairy farmer has been at the forefront of supplier protests against retailers and processors as average farmgate milk prices plunged by a quarter in a year. Handley presented FoA’s own solution to price volatility last October, which led Iceland to guarantee its farmers a milk price linked to the cost of production during the same month.
No comments yet