About us

The business was founded by William Jackson. He was born in 1828 - the son of a farmer – and opened his first shop at number 28 Scale Lane in Hull in September 1851. At the time he was aged 23 and was clearly a romantic because he got married in the morning to Sarah and opened his first shop – a Grocer and Tea Dealer - in the afternoon! The plaque from this first shop is kept in the boardroom today.

For the next 37 years the business remained more or less a one shop operation. William and Sarah had an interesting nickname because of their extreme caution in weighing out any goods for a customer over the counter, they were known to the community as “Mr & Mrs Split Currant”. That sense of value for money remains a core value of the business and is articulated in our vision.

William died in October 1912 at the age of 84. He was active until his death and had been tasting tea the day before at one of the new shops opened by his son George.

George joined the business aged 15 and managed a new shop, 127 Spring Bank, opened in 1888 when he was 25. It was whilst George was chairman that a steady and sustained expansion began. By 1912 there were 17 shops, a bakery, a jam factory, warehousing and stables. By 1916 there were 32 stores. George changed his name by deed poll to George Jackson Bentham and also followed a career in politics. He became a Hull City Councillor. In 1910 he became Liberal MP for Gainsborough in Lincolnshire but lost the seat in 1918 when the Lloyd George Liberals split with the Asquith faction, and joined the Conservatives in a coalition government.

George died in 1929 shortly after the company had passed 500 employees. Interestingly, the bakery he opened in 1907 was on Derringham Street, the same location as the current Jackson’s Bakery.

A non-family chairman was appointed and the business continued to grow. By 1939 there were 85 stores in York, Leeds, Bridlington, Goole and Doncaster, as well as Hull.

Further investment in the bakery continued. In 1934 a state-of-the-art Baker Perkins travelling oven was installed at the Derringham Street site at a cost of £4500. This was followed by an automated bread wrapper and slicer. In the first week the company sold 3000 sliced loaves!

The company struggled through the Second World War. Horses were brought back and steam vehicles were used for deliveries – motor vehicles were commandeered by the government. On 1 May 1942 the creamery for the bakery and the offices were bombed.

During the 1950s and 1960s the business expanded enormously. By 1955 there were seven bakeries in production. By 1967 the company owned 50% of Timms flour mills.

There was a sizeable outside catering business and an embryonic pub business. Crystal Motors became the Ford dealers for Hull in 1953. Other dealerships were added later.

The most exciting development was the opening in March 1961 of the first Grandways store in Leeds. The Financial Times referred to it as “the first fully fledged discount store to open in this country”. This openly challenged the policy of Resale Price Maintenance, a law which allowed manufacturers to insist on a certain base retail price to be charged by the retailer. The Grandways chain sold everything from food to televisions. The chain grew rapidly. The last site to open was Giant Grandways in 1990.

Other developments were also going on. There was a meat factory in Cottingham which was progressively expanded, a computer business called AIM was started and supplied software not only to Jacksons, but also to Comet and later became a leader in supplying software systems to the legal profession.

By the 1980s the business was quite a conglomerate and the strains began to show as other deep-pocketed players emerged in all areas of the business.

So the 1980s and 1990s saw an era of consolidation. Bread making was rationalised, AIM was sold, Jacksons Services closed, the meat factory was sold, catering interests were sold (except the Ferguson Fawsitt), confectionery and savouries production ceased and the Grandways stores were sold. Our 50% of Timms was sold, as was the Crystal Ford dealership in Hull.

Out of this period of consolidation came the invention of the first commercially produced Yorkshire Puddings and the Aunt Bessie’s brand was launched in 1995 and despite a terrible fire in 1995, is still growing today.

The first Jacksons convenience store opened in 1991 and this chain grew to 114 stores by 2004, when it was sold to Sainsbury’s.

Following the sale of Jacksons Stores, a majority holding in Hazeldene took place in 2005 and Parripak was acquired in December 2006. In 2008 Solway Veg was purchased as part of a growing Parripak business. During these latter years a full programme of investment was undertaken to upgrade Jackson’s Bakery on the Derringham Street site.

William Jackson Food Group is today a focused food company, comprising four separate businesses which are well invested and well run. We will grow from here and there will be many more chapters to add to our story.