Fine Fare
Food supermarkets (1951-1988)
1951 Commenced as a single supermarket and part of a department store (owned by Howardsgate Trust) in Welwyn Garden City
c1955 the assets of Howardsgate Trust were acquired by ABC Foods
1962 Howardsgate Holdings was majority owned by Associated British Foods [1]
1962 Owned more than 200 stores
By the end of 1962, the company had opened 130 new supermarkets in a period of 15 months.
1964 The MD is J. C. Jones. They have 300 supermarkets.[2]
1966 Fine Fare Holdings and Associated British Foods, both controlled by Garfield Weston and his family, purchased a controlling interest in Melias Ltd but did not intend to make an offer for rest at that time.[3]
ABF had been slowly selling its grocery businesses to its sister company, Fine Fare[4]
1967 James Gulliver appointed chairman.
1986 Acquired by Dee Corporation and the stores re-named as Gateway Foodmarkets