HC Deb 27 April 1981 vol 3 cc336-8W
Mr. Bruce-Gardyne

asked the Secretary of State for Trade when he expects to publish the report of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission on the proposed merger between S. and W. Berisford Limited and the British Sugar Corporation.

Mrs. Sally Oppenheim

[pursuant to her reply, 25 March 1981, c. 329]: I am now able to give the House further information pursuant to the statement which I made on 25 March when the report of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission on the proposed merger between S. and W. Berisford Limited and the British Sugar Corporation Ltd. was published.

On 22 April my right hon. Friend received and accepted undertakings from S. and W. Berisford Limited in the following terms: S &W Berisford Limited ("Berisford") hereby gives the following undertakings to the Secretary of State under Section 88 of the Fair Trading Act 1973, to become effective upon British Sugar Corporation Limited becoming a subsidiary (within the meaning of Section 154 of the Companies Act 1948) of Berisford:— 1. In these undertakings:—

  • "the Berisford Group" means Berisford and all its subsidiaries;
  • "British Sugar" means British Sugar Corporation Limited;
  • "the British Sugar Group" means British Sugar and all its subsidiaries;
  • "the Tate & Lyle Group" means Tate & Lyle Limited and all its subsidiaries and
  • "year" means a period of 12 months ending on 30 September.
2.
  1. (a) Berisford will ensure that no member of the Berisford Group will trade in the United Kingdom in the branded sugar and branded sugar products of any member of the Tate & Lyle Group.
  2. (b) Berisford will ensure that in any year either
    1. (i) no member of the Berisford Group will sell in the United Kingdom (otherwise than as incorporated in the products of a member of the Berisford Group) any unbranded sugar or any unbranded sugar products acquired from a member of the Tate & Lyle Group; or
    2. (ii) the aggregate of the sales in the United Kingdom by members of the Berisford Group of the unbranded sugar and the unbranded sugar products of the Tate & Lyle Group (otherwise than as incorporated in the products of a member of the Berisford Group) and the sales in the United Kingdom of the sugar and sugar products (whether branded or unbranded) of the British Sugar Group will not exceed the limit defined in sub-paragraph (c) below.
  3. (c) The said limit is the greater of the following two amounts:
    1. (i) the volume of the British Sugar Group's normal annual production of sugar and sugar products (to be regarded as being 1.144 million tonnes, the level of the UK maximum quota which has been agreed in the context of the European Community's sugar regime); and
    2. (ii) the volume of the British Sugar Group's actual production of sugar and sugar products in the year in question.
  4. (d) It is understood that Berisford may treat the limit defined in sub-paragraph (c) above as increased for any year by 5 per cent. thereof but, if advantage is taken in any year of such increase, the limit for the next year shall be treated as reduced by the volume of sales in the previous year actually made by virtue of the increase in the limit.
  5. (e) The above undertakings are subject to the legal commitments of the Berisford Group, and will be implemented as soon as the Berisford Group can 338 arrange an orderly withdrawal from its merchanting in the United Kingdom of sugar and sugar products of the Tate & Lyle Group.
 3. Berisford will also ensure that the British Sugar Group is maintained as a separate group of companies without major changes in the activities or purposes of the group as a whole in relation to the purchase and processing of sugar beet and the manufacture, marketing and sale of white and raw sugar, beet pulp and molasses and that there are published annual reports and audited accounts of British Sugar (including consolidated accounts) with supplementary material such as to give information comparable with that given in the Directors' Report and Accounts, the Chairman's Statement and Chief Executive's Review, together with the 10 year summary set out in the table of Historical Cost Financial Information published for British Sugar in 1979–80. 4. Berisford also agrees to provide the Director General at any time with such information as he may require to monitor these undertakings.

In the light of those undertakings, S. and W. Berisford is free to renew its offer for the British Sugar Corporation, and I understand that it has now done so.