[2] The firm's primary competitor is the Irish C&C Group and its Magners brand (which holds the licence to the Bulmers name within the Republic of Ireland only).

In 1889, on leaving King's College, Cambridge, his elder brother Fred (Edward Frederick Bulmer), turned down the offer of a post as tutor to the children of the King of Siam to join Percy in his fledgling cider business.

With a £1,760 loan from their father, the brothers bought an 8 acres (3.2 ha) field just outside the city and built their first cider mill.

It was little more than a barn compared to the huge modern stainless-steel computer-controlled cider-making plant that has grown up on a 75 acres (30.4 ha) site nearby.

Cider-making was then an unpredictable activity, the natural fermentation process being achieved by yeast contained within apples; this meant that the cider often became sour.

Bulmers was first granted the Royal Warrant in 1911 and continues today as Cider Maker to His Majesty the King.

Bulmers now survives only as a brand name, with operations in Hereford scaled back considerably, principally producing cider.

[8] In 2006, the company relaunched Bulmers Original in the UK, a premium packaged cider aimed at the "served over ice" market, which grew in popularity.