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Group at a glance

Key facts

• Associated British Foods is a diversified international food, ingredients and retail group.
• ABF has four key business areas: Grocery, Sugar & Agriculture, Ingredients and Retail.
• The group has significant businesses worldwide.
• ABF is at the heart of the UK agricultural industry and is its biggest customer. The company buys more primary products from British farmers than any other group. ABF has leading market positions in sugar, seed enhancement, grain and animal feeds production.
• ABF's sugar processing business, British Sugar, is Europe's most efficient sugar producer. It buys the entire UK sugar beet crop and supplies half the UK's requirement for sugar. British Sugar crop of 1.16m tonnes in 2008 financial year. Its sales to retail outlets amount to four million bags of sugar a week making Silver Spoon a leading UK food brand.
• ABF’s joint venture arable business, Frontier, is a leading supplier of cereal inputs and marketer of farm-sourced grain.
• The Ingredients business is a key growth area for ABF in the UK and North America. The group applies technical skills in producing functional ingredients from natural products, for example tooth-friendly sweetening ingredients in sugar-free candy and gum.
• ABF is a major manufacturer of both branded and private label grocery products. Some of the best known household brands include Twinings, Ovaltine, Mazola, Ryvita, Silver Spoon, Tip Top and Kingsmill.
• The group's retail textile business is represented by Primark in the UK and Penneys in Ireland. There are currently 184 Primark stores and around 5.44m sq ft of selling space, of which around one third are in the Republic of Ireland. Total employees currently stand at approximately 25,500 in the UK, Ireland and Spain.
• ABF's foods operation in Australia and New Zealand, George Weston Foods (GWF), is a major processor and producer of branded food products. GWF's baked goods enjoy a 75% penetration of Australian households and Tip Top is Australia's leading food brand.
• ABF has approximately 96,000 employees worldwide in 44 countries.