Food
2015: No.43 £82m
2014: No.49 £45m
Peter Blakemore is managing director of Wolverhampton-based food wholesalers AF Blakemore and Sons – a firm which prides itself on doing things “The Blakemore Way”.
He is the third generation of Blakemore running the company, which has developed a culture and values which set them apart from some other companies in the competitive food sector. In a nutshell ‘The Blakemore Way’ means treating colleagues, customers and the community which the company serves in a friendly and positive way.
AF Blakemore has an award winning CSR programme and is an active participant in Business in the Community. Peter Blakemore, 70, sits on the BITC West Midlands Advisory Board and in 2009 was appointed Prince’s Ambassador for the West Midlands.
The approach obviously works. AF Blakemore is consistently profitable and made profits of £7.6 million on sales of nearly £1.2 billion in 2013/14. The company has £78.6 million in net assets.
AF Blakemore is one of the biggest food supply companies in the UK and is also a key player in the Spar Group, running well over 300 Spar shops throughout the country through Blakemore Retail. The group also services around 940 Spar shops and is the largest member of the Landmark Wholesale Group. Peter Blakemore represents the UK on the Spar Food Distribution international board.
Peter Blakemore, who lives in Wolverhampton, owns 70 per cent of the billion pound turnover company which began life as a Wolverhampton grocer’s set up by his grandfather, Arthur Blakemore in 1917.
Now, AF Blakemore employs around 8,000 people and much of its sales turnover growth is as a result of its acquisition of Capper & Co for £40 million. The company has also acquired Lowries Cash and Carry in the north of England. Its sales growth in recent years has been impressive, considering the competition from convenience stores opened by the big supermarkets. Most of its profits have been ploughed back into the business, with the balance going to charities.
The group’s freehold and long-lease property value exceeds £51.3 million.
As well as its flagship £5 million wholesale division headquarters on Wolverhampton Science Park and its Willenhall company HQ and distribution centre, AF Blakemore has nine wholesale deports across the UK. The company also has a fresh foods division, a food service division, a shop-fitting division, a print business and its Blakemore Fine Foods distribution business.
Community effort plays a big part of Peter Blakemore’s business attitude. The award-winning Blakemore Foundation benefits from two per cent of the company’s pre-tax profits, the firm has a well-established employee volunteering scheme, and raising money for charity is embedded in the company’s philosophy.
Blakemore Retail employees donated nearly £45,000 to ChildLine, and the company has joined forces with Walsall Business Parks at the Black Country Chamber of Commerce to help businesses in Walsall recycle their waste, helped by Blakemore Logistics.
