Fitch Lovell was a British food manufacturing, transportation, distribution and retail conglomerate with origins dating back to 1784.
During the 19th century Fitch & Son grew from being a cheesemaker to become a producer and provider of many food products, from cheese to bacon.
[16] During the 1970s the business expanded by purchasing Huttons & Co Ltd, a ship chandlers, food warehousing and transportation company,[17] and building more Key Market stores.
[19] The company expanded its product manufacturing by entering the burgeoning margarine market, in partnership with American firm Standard Brands.
[26] Eventually Linfood purchased the 101 Key Market Stores in 1983 for £44.8 million, after a battle with Safeway and merged them with their Gateway business.
[11][29] With the finance raised from the sale of Key Markets the West Gunner butcher shops, Favour Parker Poultry (£2.5 million), Marine Farming and animal feed firm Pilwood Feeds (for £2.5 million), Fitch Lovell purchased or created new business to grow its catering and production business.
[30][28] In 1985, it bought Jacksons of Piccadilly owners of the supposedly original recipe from 1830 for Earl Grey tea[31] and promptly sold them on to Twinings.
[33] Other Fitch Lovell business were Farmers Table Chicken (based in Witham, Essex), Blue Cap (contract distribution), Stocks Lovell (bacon supplier to supermarkets), Dixons (pork processing), Newforge Foods of Gateacre, Liverpool, who held the licence to produce SPAM in the UK as well as L Noels in Oswaldtwistle.