- Gallaher Group
Infobox_Company
company_name = Gallaher Group
company_
company_type =subsidiary ofJapan Tobacco
company_slogan =
foundation = 1857
location =Weybridge ,Surrey ,England
key_people =John Gildersleeve (Chairman),Nigel Northridge , (Chief Executive)
num_employees =
industry = Tobacco
products =Cigarettes ,Tobacco
revenue = £8,401 million GBP (2006)
operating_income=£660 million GBP (2006)
net_income = £408 million GBP (2006)
homepage = [http://www.gallaher-group.com/ www.gallaher-group.com]Gallaher Group is a major British based
multinational tobacco company. It was traded on theLondon Stock Exchange and was a constituent of theFTSE 100 Index prior to its April 2007 acquisition byJapan Tobacco .The business was originally founded in 1857 by Tom Gallaher in Londonderry,
Northern Ireland . By 1896, he had opened the largest tobacco factory in the world inBelfast . The business was incorporated on28 March 1896 to "carry on in all their branches the businesses of tobacco, cigar, cigarettes and snuff manufacture".Gallaher operates primarily in the United Kingdom and Europe, with much smaller operations in Central Asia, Africa and the Middle East. For the year ended
31 December 2004 turnover was £8.115 billion of which £5.568 billion was tobacco duty. Profit before tax was £429 million and net profit was £290 million.Gallaher is the largest of the three major quoted British tobacco groups; the other two are
BAT andImperial Tobacco . On4 August 2000 , Gallaher completed acquisition of Liggett Ducat, Russia's #1 cigarette brand. In January 2002, Gallaher became the 100% owner ofAustria 's former nationalised biggest tobacco-companyAustria Tabak .In 2002 US tobacco firm Reynolds formed Reynolds-Gallaher International to give the manufacturer access to cigarette sales in most countries in the European Union. It was scheduled to run through 2012 but in May 2007, as a result of the acquisition of Gallaher Group by Japan Tobacco, it was announced that this joint-venture would cease in November.
Formerly produced in London, Gallaher's moved its production to
Northern Ireland (cigarettes) andWales (cigars) in the early 1900s. The closure of the former JR Freemans factory inCardiff was announced in September 2007, with all work scheduled to move to theBallymena factory by September 2009. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_east/7016043.stm 184 tobacco jobs go at city plant] BBC Wales - 27 September 2007] Gallaher brands includeBenson & Hedges ,Silk Cut , Mayfair, Kensitas Club, Senior Service, Amber Leaf and Hamlet Cigars.Japan Tobacco became the sole owner of the Gallaher Group on18 April 2007, in the largest ever foreign acquisition inJapanese history . [ [http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=663&id=1863962006 Gallaher agrees £7.5bn Japan Tobacco takeover - Scotsman.com News ] ] JT has made tentative plans to close Gallaher's head office in Weybridge, with implications for 330 jobs. [ [http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/markets/japan/article755713.ece Merrill Lynch in line for windfall over tobacco deal - Times Online ] ]Notes
External links
* [http://www.gallaher-group.com/ Official site]
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