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When did the company start?

The Samworth dynasty began in 1896 when George Samworth founded his own business. The family concentrated on pork butchery and retail throughout the years and the business grew significantly in the 1960s and 1970s with Parr's (who made sausages amongst other things) and Pork Farms. This business was floated as a public company in 1971 and sold to Northern Foods in 1978. The purchase of Ginsters Pasties in 1977 by John Samworth was the new beginning of what is now the Samworth Brothers Limited business. Samworth links between Pork Farms and Parr's were ended in in 1980. The new group became Samworth Brothers Limited in 1985.

The group acquired Walkers in 1986 (a chain of pork butchery shops owned by the same family that began the crisp empire), and Dickinson & Morris in 1992. The rest of the group has grown organically by building 'greenfield' production facilities purpose built for a specific area of the chilled food market. Greenfield development refers to land which has not previously ben used for development as opposed to 'brownfield' sites which have. The group has now become a 13-division group.

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