The origins of the Vestey Group stretch back to the late 19th century when brothers William and Edmund Vestey founded the Union Cold Storage Company in Liverpool. This book tells the remarkable story of how they built a fortune and a commercial empire importing vast quantities of eggs from China, while bringing new ideas to the family's traditional Victorian butchery business.
Among the first to exploit the potential of refrigeration, the brothers organised an integrated network of companies to control the supply of meat on its journey from the Southern hemisphere into Britain's high streets. The Vesteys owned all the links in the chain - from pampas and outback ranches, through port-side packing companies, on to their Blue Star Line ships for delivery to the group's wholesalers, and from there to the nation's dinner tables via Vestey retail butchers' shops, notably J.H. Dewhurst.
This book records the extraordinary story of this global business and the family's involvement in it. Colourful histories in both the commercial and family domains are brought to life through episodes and anecdotes, as the group's fortunes have been threatened, reshaped and revitalised by great historical events sweeping around a family business spanning over 150 years.
A great book and a great addition to The Heritage Library too.