| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Holding company |
| Founded | 1941; 84 years ago (1941) |
| Founder | W. Garfield Weston |
| Headquarters | London, England, UK |
Key people | Sir Guy Weston (chairman)[1] |
| Revenue |  £14.133 billion (2020)[1] |
| Total assets |  £15.5 billion (2019)[2] |
| Owners |
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| Subsidiaries | Associated British Foods (54.5%),Fortnum & Mason,Heal's, Wittington Properties |
| Website | wittington-investments |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Holding company |
| Founded | 1952; 73 years ago (1952) |
| Founder | W. Garfield Weston |
| Headquarters | , Canada |
Key people | Galen Weston Jr. |
| Owners | Weston family |
Wittington Investments Limited is the name of two privately ownedholding companies, one based in Britain, the other in Canada. Both companies are controlled by theWeston family.[3] Through these holding companies, the Weston family control some of the biggest names in food and retail on both sides of the Atlantic, includingLoblaws andAssociated British Foods.
The British business was incorporated in 1941 and is based inLondon, England.[4] The company is 79.2% owned by theGarfield Weston Foundation, one of the United Kingdom's largest grant-making trusts, which was established in 1958 by Canadian businessmanW. Garfield Weston (1898–1978), and 20.8% owned by members of the prominentWeston family. As of 5 April 2008, the trustees of the Garfield Weston Foundation valued their 79.2% stake in Wittington Investments at £3.62 billion.
Wittington Investments owns 54.5% ofAssociated British Foods, one of the largest food companies in the world and the parent company ofPrimark, the largest discount clothing chain in the UK and Ireland.[5] Associated British Foods also ownsBritish Sugar, processor of the entire UK beet crop and producer of half the UK consumption of sugar.[6] Further assets include ownership of the British department storeFortnum & Mason,[7] as well asHeal's, a chain of homeware and furnishing stores in the UK.[8]
"Wittington Investments, Limited" was founded by W. Garfield Weston in 1952 and is based inToronto,Ontario, Canada.[9] The company is the majority shareholder in the North American holding companyGeorge Weston Limited,[10] owner ofChoice Propertiesreal estate investment trust,controlling shareholder inLoblaw Companies Limited,[11] Canada's largest supermarket retailer and its in house retail brands includingPresident's Choice,No Name andJoe Fresh.[12] In 1963, Wittington Investments subsidiary, DICOA, (Diversified Companies of America) purchased the controlling share in Howardsgate Holdings, owners ofFine Fare supermarkets and it's various grocery brands, fromAssociated British Foods for $11.7 million after the business lost $3.7 million.[13] Howardsgate Holdings was sold in 1966 to another subsidiaryGeorge Weston Limited,[14] before being sold back toAssociated British Foods.[15][16]
In December 2020, the Weston family announced thatGalen Weston Jr. had succeeded his father (Galen Weston Sr.) as thecontrolling shareholder of Wittington Investments, Limited.[10] This company was the owner of theSelfridges Group ofdepartment store chains, includingSelfridges in the UK,Brown Thomas andArnotts in Ireland, andDe Bijenkorf in the Netherlands.[17] In December 2021, it was reported that the majority of the Selfridges Group's assets were being sold for around £4 billion to ajoint venture between Thai conglomerateCentral Group and Austrian firmSigna Holding.[18][19]
In 2024, Wittington Invesments became aLimited Partner in Radical Ventures first $800-million USD growth fund.[20]
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