1909 - National Sugar Beet Association founded to establish the manufacture of sugar as an industry
1912 - Cantley sugar factory built in Norfolk
May 21 1936 - Sugar Industry (Reorganisation) Act created British Sugar Corporation from 13 autonomous companies, 18 factories. Government held 36% stake
June 12 1936 - British Sugar Corporation registered
1973 - Entry to the European Community
1977 - Rights issue raised £18 million from existing investors and effectively reduced government stake from 36% to 24% as it did not take up its share
1980/1981 - Hostile takeover bid by S & W Berisford failed
1981 - Government sold shareholding
1981 - Britain's quota cut from 1.326 million tonnes to 1.144 million tonnes
May 1982 - Corporation dropped from the company name, it is now a plc
1982 - Purchased by Berisford International
1986/1987 - Takeover bids from Hillsdown Holdings, Feruzzi and Tate & Lyle referred to Monopolies and Mergers Commission. Subsequent bid by Associated British Foods withdrawn following stock market crash of October 1987
1989 - First UK food company to invest in eastern Europe with formation of Sugarpol with control of two Polish sugar factories
September 1990 - Following two heavy losses in finance and property, Berisford were forced to sell British Sugar. Interest from Tate & Lyle attracted further investigation by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission
January 2 1991 - Purchased by Associated British Foods for £880 million
1995 - BSO involvement with China's sugar industry began when a joint venture was arranged with the Guangxi Yizhou Sugar Development Head Company's cane sugar refinery at Shibie in Guangxi Province, SouthEast China
March 2001 - EU adopt "Everything But Arms" agreement (EBA) granting duty-free access to imports of all products from 49 least developed countries (LDC's) without any quantitative restrictions, except to arms and munitions. Gradual reduction of duty on sugar to July 2009. BSO now
has majority control in four can sugar factories in Guangxi Province:- Shibie and Huaiyuan, operated by the original Bo Qing joint venture, Bo Hua and Bo Xuan which was acquired in October 2001
23 September 2003 - EU Commission opens discussion to reform the EU Sugar Regime
22 June 2005 - EU Commission proposes radical reform of sugar sector
24 November 2005 - EU agriculture ministers reached agreement on reform
December 2005 - Work begins on construction of UK's first bioethanol production facility at Wissington
20 February 2006 - EU agriculture ministers formally adopted radical reform of the EU sugar sector
June 2006 - Collaboration with BP and DuPont on biofuels announced
1 July 2006 - Reform of sugar sector came into force
September 2006 - Completion of purchase of 51% stake in Illovo Sugar Limited
June 2007 - Announced joint venture with BP and DuPont to build world scale bioethanol plant at Hull, England
August 2007 - Announced the formation of a Joint Venture with the Hebel Yian Lu Sugar Group (Tian Lu) in the north east of China
September 2007 - UK's first bioethanol production facility commissioned at Wissington
November 2007 - Official opening of UK's first bioethanol production facility by Lord Rooker
2008 - BSO forms new sugar beet JV "BoCheng" in Qiqihaer City, Heilongjiang Province
February 2008 - Application to renounce 165,000 tonnes of UK sugar production quota accpeted by Rural Payments Agency under EU restructuring programme
March 2008 - Planning permission granted to Vivergo Fuels for construction of world scale bioethanol plant at Hull, England
April 2009 - Completion of purchase of Azucarera Ebro in Spain
June 2011 - British Sugar Group becomes AB Sugar
Back to top >