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PANRICO
SA (Spanish
Subsidiaries)
Lyons
interests in European markets had tended
to be concentrated on the EEC and hitherto
they had not involved themselves to any
great extent in Spain (Spain was not a
member of the EEC until 1986).
Nevertheless, with a population of nearly
40 million, management were impressed with
the rate of industrial growth and the
commercial prospects in that country and
accordingly in the autumn of 1973 acquired
a 50 per cent interest in two linked
enterprises, Panrico and Panificio who
were engaged in the business of cake and
biscuit related products including the
long-life products of: grissini (bread
sticks) biscotti fetine (toast), packaged
cakes and creme caramel. In January 1974
Lyons subsequently made a further move by
the acquisition of a 50 per cent interest
in each of six doughnut manufacturing
companies all of which operated under a
franchise of the Groups DCA subsidiary.
The companies were:
Donut
Corporation de Barcelona SA
Donut
Corporation de Malaga SA
Donut
Corporation del Norte SA
Donut
corporation de Sevilla SA
Donut
corporation de Valencia SA
Panificadora
Guixolense SA
Although
the Spanish business were slow to show
profit they did accelerate far faster than
the UK bakery market and were in much
better shape than their UK counterparts by
the 1980s. Their largest joint-venture
with Panrico went from strength to
strength achieving a notable 35 per cent
compound increase in profits over five
years. By the early 1990s Panrico was the
bakery sector's main source of profit
outstripping those based in the UK. Their
doughnut business had 85 per cent of the
Spanish market and Bollycao (a bread roll
with chocolate filling) 90 per cent. So
great was demand for sliced bread that a
new bread-making plant had to be installed
in Madrid and Barcelona while another
opened in Portugal. The Spanish
acquisitions had delivered up what
management anticipated in 1973.
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