Harry Vincent
of Hunnington, Worcestershire.
Maker of Blue Bird Toffees.
1895 Business founded[1] by Harry Vincent.
1927 Blue Bird Toffees was launched[2]
1952 Sir Harry Vincent died aged 77[3]
1953 Became a public company[4]
1959 Acquired Parkes Classic Confectionery[5]
1962 Eric W. Vincent, Chairman and M.D. of Harry Vincent is retiring and Mr. S. T. Bridgewater, an executive director of the company and chairman of the subsidiary, Parkes (Classic Confectionery), Ltd., will succeed Mr. Vincent as managing director.[6]
1969 Became a private company, presumably as a subsidiary of Blue Bird Confectionery Holdings which was a public company.
1970s Several attempts were made to take over the company.
1981 The company was renamed Bluebird Confectionery; it was controlled by a director, Edward Nasser; the company was developing property interests using the profits made from sweets[7]
1986 The company had received a bid which might lead to take-over[8]. Hillsdown Holdings made an agreed offer for the company, as basis for developing its confectionery interests[9]
Hillsdown merged Needlers into the business, closing Needlers factory and virtually abandoned the Blue Bird name.[10]
1989 Management buy-out of one of the Midlands' most famous companies. Roger Inman and Mike Brayshaw bought the Blue Bird toffee factory in Hunnington near Halesowen from Hillsdown Holdings[11]
1991 The Halesowen toffee maker Blue Bird was forced to call in the receivers[12]
By 1993 the company had been rescued by investment from a Singapore company.
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ Sandwell Evening Mail 06 September 1985
- ↑ Birmingham Daily Post 08 November 1977
- ↑ Aberdeen Evening Express 03 February 1953
- ↑ The Times Apr. 12, 1993
- ↑ The Times Nov. 19, 1959
- ↑ Wolverhampton Express and Star - Monday 10 December 1962
- ↑ The Times Feb. 28, 1981
- ↑ The Times Mar. 11, 1986
- ↑ The Times Sept. 13, 1986
- ↑ The Times Apr. 12, 1993
- ↑ Birmingham News 23 August 1989
- ↑ Sandwell Evening Mail 20 September 1991