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Famous British brands that are foreign-owned

The household names in foreign hands
Rolls Royce was British through and through
Rolls-Royce now produced by BMW
Cadbury finds chocolate's a winner in Birmingham
Cadbury gets gobbled up by Kraft
Walkers crisps were born in Leicester, England
Pepsi moves in on Walkers
Lea & Perrins was conceived in Worcestershire
Lea & Perrins joins the Heinz family
Tetley Tea began as an English family firm
Tetley falls under the Tata umbrella
Dulux is developed in Slough in 1931
Dulux is now owned by the Dutch
Lyle's Golden Syrup started out on the banks of the Thames
Lyles Golden Syrup goes Stateside
Jaffa Cakes have Scottish origins
Jaffa Cakes become a Turkish delight
Harvey Nichols born and bred in Knightsbridge
Harvey Nichols moves into foreign hands
Sarson's was founded in London in 1794
Sarson's becomes Japanese
Kit Kat was developed in York
Kit Kat goes Swiss
Wall's ice-cream began life in a London butchers
Unilever also scoops up Wall's
Marmite comes from Burton-on-Trent
Marmite is now owned by Unilever
The Mini was part of the British Motor Corporation
Mini is now German owned
The Financial Times was a British institution
The FT comes under Japanese ownership
House of Fraser started out in Scotland
House of Fraser comes under Chinese ownership
Hartley's Jam was born in Bootle
Hartley's Jam comes under the star spangled banner
Hain Celestial also gobbles up Ella's Kitchen
Manchester United started out as Newton Heath FC
Mancester United falls into US hands
Hamleys started out as Noah's Ark
Hamleys is now a Chinese company
Waterstones started out in Knightsbridge
Americans take a punt on Waterstones
Innocent get pouring in 1999
Innocent is swallowed by Coca-Cola
Beefeater gin starts out in Chelsea
Beefeater moves across the Channel
Newcastle Brown Ale hails from Newcastle
Newcastle Brown Ale moves to Holland
Harrods was established in London in 1849
Harrods is now in Qatari hands
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Frank Gaertner/Shutterstock

The household names in foreign hands

From Harrods to Marmite, a number of our most successful homegrown brands have been snapped up by foreign companies. We look at the iconic names that were born in Britain but have been sold to firms overseas.
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Anna Tobin

24 May 2018

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