| File:Gallaher.gif | |
| Company type | subsidiary of Japan Tobacco |
|---|---|
| Industry | Tobacco |
| Predecessor | Austria Tabak  |
| Founded | 1857 |
| Headquarters | Weybridge, Surrey, England |
Key people | John Gildersleeve (Chairman), Nigel Northridge, (Chief Executive) |
| Products | Cigarettes, Tobacco |
| Revenue | £8,401 million GBP (2006) |
| £660 million GBP (2006) | |
| £408 million GBP (2006) | |
| Parent | American Tobacco Company |
| Website | www.gallaher-group.com |
Gallaher Group is a major British based multinational tobacco company. It was traded on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index prior to its April 2007 acquisition by Japan 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 in Belfast. The business was incorporated on 28 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 smallest of the three major quoted British tobacco groups; the other two are BAT and Imperial Tobacco. On 4 August 2000, Gallaher completed acquisition of Liggett Ducat, Russia's #1 cigarette brand. In January 2002, Gallaher became the 100% owner of Austria's former nationalised biggest tobacco-company Austria 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) and Wales (cigars) in the early 1900s. The closure of the former JR Freemans factory in Cardiff was announced in September 2007, with all work scheduled to move to the Ballymena factory by September 2009.[1] Gallaher brands include Benson & Hedges, Silk Cut, Mayfair, Kensitas Club, Amber Leaf and Hamlet Cigars.
Japan Tobacco became the sole owner of the Gallaher Group on 18 April 2007, in the largest ever foreign acquisition in Japanese history.[2] JT has made tentative plans to close Gallaher's head office in Weybridge, with implications for 330 jobs.[3]