View source for Bejam

{{Short description|Defunct British frozen food supermarket chain}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2015}}
{{Infobox company
| logo =
| name = Bejam Group plc
| location = [[Stanmore]], [[England]],<br />[[United Kingdom]]
| foundation = 1968
| defunct = 1989
| type = [[Privately held company|Private]]
| products = Groceries
| successor = [[Iceland (supermarket)|Iceland]]
}}

'''Bejam''' was a British frozen food supermarket chain founded by [[John Apthorp]] in 1968, based in [[Stanmore]], [[London]]. The business grew to become the biggest frozen food retailer and largest seller of freezers and microwaves in Britain.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.thecasecentre.org/products/view?id=23123|title=Bejam|author=Brian Kenny, Edward C Lea|publisher=University of Huddersfield|date=1984}}</ref> The business was purchased by smaller rival, [[Iceland (supermarket)|Iceland]], in a hostile takeover in 1989.

==History==
The concept of selling only frozen foods was a novel idea in 1968. John Apthorp, worked for ''E. A. D. Apthorp'', his family firm of potato merchants, who were bought out by the [[Ross Group]] in 1968. Apthorp did not like working within the larger organisation, so he left and opened a single store in [[Edgware]] as ''Bejam Bulk Buying'' in 1968 selling frozen foods.<ref name=don/><ref name=ftoct78/><ref>{{cite periodical|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0QhJ1yCHq5UC&q=meatpak+hampshire+bejam|title=Bejam plc|periodical=Jane's Major Companies of Europe|date=1975|author=Lionel Faraday Gray|publisher=McGraw-Hill|page=B-114|isbn=978-0-354-00514-2 }}</ref> The name, Bejam was an acronym for Brian, Eric, John and Milly and Marion, the names of the Apthorp family members.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JxSVKd7D7i4C&dq=bejam+acronym&pg=PA18|title=The Wordsworth Dictionary of Abbreviations and Acronyms|author=Rodney Dale, Steve Puttick|date=1997|isbn=9781853263859|page=18|publisher=Wordsworth Editions }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LxfnAAAAMAAJ&q=%22bejam%22+Brian,+Eric,+John+and+Milly+and+Marion,|title=The Guinness Book of Names|author=Leslie Dunkling|date=1993|isbn=9780851125954|page=210|publisher=Guinness}}</ref><ref name=ftoct78/> At the time Britain was behind continental Europe in freezer ownership with less than 1% of households owning one, but by 1973 it had grown to around 2 million homes.<ref name=don>{{cite journal|title=The Kitchen Revolution: How Bejam makes Housewives Freezer Conscious|journal=Retail and Distribution Management|author=Laurence Don|date=1 January 1974|volume=2|issue=1|pages=11–13|doi=10.1108/eb017764}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/NewsUK1978UKEnglish/Apr%2022%201978%2C%20The%20Times%2C%20%2360283%2C%20UK%20%28en%29/page/n23/mode/1up?q=bejam|title=Weekend Shoparound|newspaper=22 April 1978|page=24}}</ref> By 1973, Bejam had expanded to 72 stores, not just selling frozen food but also freezers themselves, a pioneer in the marketplace, while in the same year it became listed on the [[London Stock Exchange]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.marxists.org/history/etol/newspape/workers-press-uk/n1110-jun-28-1973-Workers-Press.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjgl6-Aw5KFAxViYUEAHVmfCCEQFnoECCkQAQ&usg=AOvVaw0tZNeg7ZAo11cnP1xIiJzX|title=Bulk-buying leads to bulk-selling of shares|newspaper=Workers Press|date=28 June 1973|page=11}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/FinancialTimes1978UKEnglish/Jul%2023%201978%2C%20Financial%20Times%2C%20%2327592%2C%20UK%20%28en%29/page/n30/mode/1up?q=bejam|title=International Frozen Foods|newspaper=The Financial Times|date=23 June 1976}}</ref> The company had many subsidiaries supplying frozen food to the business, including the jointly owned Meatpak Hampshire.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/stream/FinancialTimes1973UKEnglish/Oct%2002%201973%2C%20Financial%20Times%2C%20%2326176%2C%20UK%20%28en%29_djvu.txt|title=Bejam seeks more 1 shop sites|newspaper=The Financial Times|date=24 August 1973}}</ref> Bejam would also buy 50% of Smeets Diepvries, B.V., a Netherlands wholesale distributor of frozen foods in 1973, eventually opening three Bejam stores in the Netherlands.<ref>{{cite periodical|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t44iAQAAMAAJ&q=bejam+Smeets+Diepvries+BV|title=Bejam Group plc|periodical=Jane's Major Companies of Europe|publisher=S. Low, Marston & Company|date=1976|page=B-90}}</ref> In 1974, the company opened a new jointly owned {{Convert|3,300,000|sqft|adj=on}} cold store in [[Milton Keynes]] with the [[National Freight Corporation]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/NewsUK1974UKEnglish/Dec%2009%201974%2C%20The%20Times%2C%20%2359265%2C%20UK%20%28en%29/page/n24/mode/1up?q=bejam|title=Bejam refundings|newspaper=The Times|date=9 December 1974|page=17}}</ref>

The company grew very quickly during the 1970s, and by 1978 they had grown to 147 stores with {{Convert|463,000|sqft|adj=on}} of sales space making £2.34 million of profit on £44.23 million turnover.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/NewsUK1978UKEnglish/Mar%2023%201978%2C%20The%20Times%2C%20%2360264%2C%20UK%20%28en%29/page/n25/mode/1up|title=Rapid expansion of Bejam mitigates half-time setback|newspaper=The Times|date=23 March 1978|page=26}}</ref> The appliances division joined up with [[Barclays|Barclays Bank]] in 1976 to offer customers credit on fridges and freezers sold in store.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/FinancialTimes1976UKEnglish/Jun%2025%201976%2C%20Financial%20Times%2C%20%2327004%2C%20UK%20%28en%29/mode/1up?q=bejam+emi|title=CBI proposals to directors|newspaper=The Financial Times|date=25 June 1976|page=1}}</ref> Bejam continued to grow, and in 1979 announced record profits of £6.04 million,<ref name=ftoct78>{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/FinancialTimes1979UKEnglish/Oct%2012%201979%2C%20Financial%20Times%2C%20%2327989%2C%20UK%20%28en%29/page/n7/mode/1up?q=bejam+emi|title=Bejam comes in from the cold|newspaper=The Financial Times|date=12 October 1979|page=8}}</ref> and had continued to grow in the interim profits report of 1980 to £4.1 million, with the company's share price sitting at 59p.<ref name=slowdown>{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/NewsUK1980UKEnglish/Mar%2020%201980%2C%20The%20Times%2C%20%2360580%2C%20UK%20%28en%29/page/n28/mode/1up?q=bejam|title=Bejam. It may slow down|newspaper=The Times|date=20 March 1980|page=29}}</ref> The company diversified in 1979 by purchasing 38 restaurants from [[EMI]] for £4.78 million, mostly operating under [[Wimpy (restaurant)|Wimpy]] and Tennessee Pancake fascias, and announced plans to open a fast food chain called ''Trumps'', with the first branch opening in [[Romford]].<ref name=ftoct78/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/FinancialTimes1979UKEnglish/Jun%2002%201979%2C%20Financial%20Times%2C%20%2327879%2C%20UK%20%28en%29/page/n19/mode/1up?q=bejam+emi|title=Bejam acquires EMI restaurants for £4.8 million|newspaper=The Financial Times|date=2 June 1979|page=20}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/FinancialTimes1979UKEnglish/Mar%2013%201979%2C%20Financial%20Times%2C%20%2327813%2C%20UK%20%28en%29/page/n32/mode/1up?q=bejam+emi|title=Bejam pays £5 million for EMI restaurant chain|newspaper=The Financial Times|date=13 March 1979|page=33}}</ref> However, the fast food experiment failed, with 22 of the branches sold in 1980,<ref name=slowdown/> and in 1981 the business withdrew from the market with a write-down of £1.9 million. It didn't however affect the company's profits, with the company generating pre-tax profits of £9 million.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/NewsUK1981UKEnglish/Oct%2007%201981%2C%20The%20Times%2C%20%2361049%2C%20UK%20%28en%29/page/n22/mode/1up?q=bejam+emi|title=Bejam. Eating Humble Pie|newspaper=The Times|date=7 October 1981|page=23}}</ref> On the freezer shop front, Bejam purchased seven supermarket sites from [[British American Tobacco|BAT]] for £1.37 million in 1980,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/NewsUK1980UKEnglish/Oct%2008%201980%2C%20The%20Times%2C%20%2360744%2C%20UK%20%28en%29/page/n22/mode/1up?q=bejam|title=Bejam. Margins maintained|newspaper=The Times|date=8 October 1980}}</ref> and 16 freezer centres owned by [[Fine Fare]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T1A6AQAAIAAJ&q=%22bejam%22+fine+fare|title=Parliamentary Papers Volume 40|publisher=H.M. Stationery Office|date=1982|page=67}}</ref>

By 1982, the company turnover had on food sales alone had grown to £208 million.<ref>{{cite periodical|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ctIbAQAAMAAJ&q=%22bejam%22|title=Bejam|periodical=Investors Chronicle & Financial World|date=1982|page=255}}</ref> In 1984, the company opened its 200th store in [[Woodley, Berkshire]] with a ceremony with [[Anne, Princess Royal]] and her then husband [[Mark Phillips]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://m.facebook.com/BejamMemories/photos/a.354617457952002/1902153453198387/?type=3|title=Bejam Memories|date=2018|website=Facebook}}</ref> The firm went head to head with Iceland in 1985, to purchase twelve of the failed freezer food chain Orchard Foods, but lost out to a £910,000 bid by the rival chain which saw Iceland gain its first stores in Bejam's territory.<ref name=walker>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xU9lAgAAQBAJ&dq=%22bejam%22&pg=PT103|title=Best Served Cold|author=Malcolm Walker|date=2013|isbn=9781848317017|publisher=Icon Books}}</ref> By 1986, this had grown to 226 freezer centres, and this was further enhanced by the purchase of
45 [[Victor Value]] stores from [[Tesco]] in 1986.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Bejam|journal=Management Services|volume=30|date=1986|page=38}}</ref> John Adthorp had contacted [[Malcolm Walker (businessman)|Malcolm Walker]] of Iceland, in 1986 about purchasing the business, which he still held 30% of shares, but nothing further happened after initial conversations.<ref name=walker/> In 1987, the business expanded with the purchases of [[William Low|Lowfreeze]], the freezer shop brand of Scottish supermarket chain, Wm Low, nine of the former Sainsbury's Freezer Centres and retailer ''Wizard Wine''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.majestic.co.uk/about/history |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170315080933/https://www.majestic.co.uk/about/history |url-status=dead |archive-date=2017-03-15 |title=History - About |publisher=Majestic.co.uk |access-date=2017-03-26}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Restructuring Scottish grocery retailing: the rise and demise of Shoprite and Wm Low|journal=International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management|author=Sparks. L|date=1 October 1995|volume=23|issue=10 |pages=28–36|doi=10.1108/09590559510102469}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sainsburyarchive.org.uk/catalogue/search/sapr212214-sale-of-independent-freezer-centres-press-release-18-aug-1987|title=Sale of Independent Freezer Centres" press release, 18 Aug 1987|website=Sainsbury's Archive|access-date=3 April 2024}}</ref> The company's shares rose from 158p to 210p on rumours that both Iceland and Hazelwood Foods were lining up bids, and it was announced that John Adthorp had handed over day-to-day running of the business to Timothy How.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/NewsUK1987UKEnglish/Jun%2002%201987%2C%20The%20Times%2C%20%2362784%2C%20UK%20%28en%29/page/n21/mode/1up?q=%22bejam%22|title=Indexes soar to records as buyers rush for bargains|newspaper=The Times|date=2 June 1987|page=22}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/NewsUK1987UKEnglish/Jun%2006%201987%2C%20The%20Times%2C%20%2362788%2C%20UK%20%28en%29/page/n24/mode/1up?q=%22bejam%22|title=Bejam boardroom reshuffle strengthens takeover talk|newspaper=The Times|date=6 June 1987|page=2}}</ref> The Iceland link was very true, with Adthorp and Walker agreeing a price of 230p per share, however the Bejam board could not agree on the deal and Adthorp would not guarantee to sell his shares to Iceland if he received a higher bid.<ref name=walker/>

In 1988, Iceland made a hostile takeover bid for Bejam, initially in a share offer worth 123p a share at a total of £240 million. Apthorp had stated the offer was ''inadequate and substantially and undervalues Bejam'', with Walker criticising Bejam for not issuing a profit forecast.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/NewsUK1988UKEnglish/Dec%2012%201988%2C%20The%20Times%2C%20%2363262%2C%20UK%20%28en%29/page/n22/mode/1up?q=%22bejam%22|title=Iceland on new attack on Bejam|newspaper=The Times|date=12 December 1988}}</ref> Iceland then amended their offer to include part cash part share at 187p, but the market were failed to be impressed with Bejam's share price dropping to 170p, and Adthorp said he would not accept the offer.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/NewsUK1988UKEnglish/Dec%2002%201988%2C%20The%20Times%2C%20%2363254%2C%20UK%20%28en%29/page/n26/mode/1up?q=%22bejam%22|title=Bejam rebuff for Iceland sweetener|newspaper=The Times|date=2 December 1988}}</ref> On the 30 December, [[Lloyd's Bank]], the registrar for the share offer declared that 50.09% of the shareholders in Bejam had accepted the offer.<ref name=walker/>

==See also==
*[[List of companies based in London]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* [[Adrian Room]], ''Corporate Eponymy: A Biographical Dictionary of the Persons Behind the Names'', Page 17, McFarland & Co, 1992, {{ISBN|0-89950-679-8}}
* Adrian Room, ''Dictionary of Trade Name Origins'', Page 38, Routledge, 1982, {{ISBN|0-7102-0174-5}}
* David Boylan, Antony Head, ''Corporate Finance: Principles & Practice'', Page 314, Pearson Education, 2007, {{ISBN|0-273-70644-6}}

{{Iceland Foods Ltd}}
{{Defunct UK grocers}}

[[Category:Retail companies established in 1968]]
[[Category:Companies disestablished in 1989]]
[[Category:Companies based in the London Borough of Harrow]]
[[Category:Defunct supermarkets of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:1968 establishments in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:1989 disestablishments in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange]]