Established to manufacture pig feed in the early 1970s, today Cranswick’s strategy of mergers and acquisitions is really bringing home the bacon. And the pasta. And the fish.

Cranswick operates in two sectors – food production and the pet sector, with products ranging from pork products and continental-style foods, to fish, aquatic products and pet food.

A group of farmers formed the company and have largely retained their shares, adding to a prevailing family feel throughout the group, according to Finance Director John Lindop.

“When we moved to a full listing on the London Stock Exchange in 1993, our ‘Save As You Earn’ scheme attracted a high take-up, showing strong loyalty,” Lindop explains.

Cranswick also feels close to its 800-strong private shareholder base, which improves liquidity and helps to establish a reliable market price for the shares. The company attracts private investors by giving interviews to local, national and specialist media.

Lindop comments: “To show our commitment to the private investor, we improved the liquidity of our share by effectively doubling the number in the market through a bonus issue in July.”

The company uses the latest registrar information to send all of its private investors copies of stock exchange announcements on the day of release, just one personal touch that encourages many shareholders to attend Cranswick’s AGM.

"After presentations on a specific part of the business – usually our latest acquisition – we offer a sit-down meal featuring Cranswick products such as those of Gourmet Sausage, a joint-venture company bought out in 2001," Lindop notes.

As well as Gourmet Sausage, Cranswick’s acquisitions include Pork Cuts, Yorkshire Country Pork, FT Sutton, Pethick and Lazenby. The deals brought the processing of pigs inn-house, while Continental Fine Foods, the most recent purchase, expanded Cranswick’s interests to the import of meats and pasta.

To guard against fluctuations in agricultural commodity prices, in 1993 Cranswick entered the pet sector. The Tropical Marine Centre supplies fish and aquatic products, and Bucktons supplies bird and small animal feed to pet stores and garden centres.

Since entering the FTSE™ SmallCap Index in December 2001, the group has risen to the top 50 among the 358 businesses listed, based on market capitalisation.

So what makes Cranswick more efficient than its peers? Lindop cites a focus on quality, customer service and product development, combined with a healthy dose of conservatism – both in the way the company is managed and in how it is financed. The company does not run with high levels of debt, making a single acquisition each year financed through a combination of cash and newly issued shares.

For the future, the recipe at Cranswick is ‘more of the same’ for continued growth.

Facts and Figures:
Company: Cranswick plc
Location: Driffield, East Yorkshire
Number of employees: 1,150
FTSE index: FTSE ALL-Share, FTSE SmallCap
FTSE sector: Food producers and processors
Date of admission: 13 July 1993
Market value at 31 Mar 2003: £163.89m
Web address: www.cranswick.co.uk

Source: Publicity, October 2002