37-538: Happy Shopper was a brand of budget-priced groceries and household products that was sold in the United Kingdom. The brand was originally owned by cash and carry company Nurdin and Peacock , who were subsequently acquired by Booker Group in November 1996. Happy Shopper products are sold in discount stores, convenience stores, and other retail outlets throughout the country. The name was also used broadly for
74-1044: A convenience store franchise between 1971 and 1998, but as of 2020, very few stores still operate under the Happy Shopper banner. Most Happy Shopper stores rebranded under the Premier Stores brand during the 2000s, another name also controlled by Booker Group . Some Happy Shopper stores do still exist however, primarily in the East Midlands (Nottingham, Derby, Ilkeston), and in the South East , predominantly in suburban estates. Happy Shopper convenience products are distributed to independent convenience stores , off licences and discount stores, as well as cash and carry companies. Products include groceries , frozen foods , carbonated drinks , prepackaged/dried foods and confectionery , and are classed as part of Premier's own brand range. The original brand's logo
111-478: A stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Booker Group Booker Group Limited is a British wholesale distributor, and subsidiary of Tesco . In January 2017, it was announced that the British multinational supermarket retailer Tesco had agreed to purchase the company for £3.7 billion. It was confirmed on 5 March 2018 that Tesco had completed its acquisition of Booker Group Limited. The company
148-516: A benevolent force providing major benefits for sugar workers. Jock Campbell was also instrumental in the setting up of Booker's Author Division, which sponsored the Booker Prize . In 1986, the company set up a short-lived co-venture between the directors of Siriol Animation to create Kalisto. Kalisto also developed a show called Space Baby (which eventually became Fantastic Max ), along with another series called Satellite City (which
185-471: A cartoon called Fantastic Max (which was originally called Space Baby ) and to create a sequel series to SuperTed entitled The Further Adventures of SuperTed . Moving into co-productions has proved successful for Siriol, resulting in productions such as The Princess and the Goblin an 80-minute film co-produced by Hungary's Pannonia Film Studio and Under Milk Wood , a 50-minute TV special using
222-628: A children's stop motion animated series, Fireman Sam in 1987, except it was produced by Prism Art and Design Ltd and Bumper Films . In its early years, the studio worked exclusively for S4C, and Robin Lyons (managing director) decided to broaden its customer base and to move into co-productions to form Siriol Productions in 1988. In 1989, Mike Young left the company and moved to the United States to set up his own company, Mike Young Productions . Young also teamed up with Hanna-Barbera to develop
259-599: A commission to produce an animated series of SuperTed (which Mike Young created). With support from S4C, the partners set up an animation studio, Siriol Animation . SuperTed was a highly successful with the company winning a prestigious BAFTA award in 1987. The show first aired in 1982 and started airing on S4C in Wales and on the BBC elsewhere in the UK. It ran for three series and 36 episodes. Following its success with SuperTed ,
296-467: A few older titles, but the rights to most of the older series are now held by Entertainment Rights . The company eventually employed over 40 people and was a developer of talent in the Welsh animation industry for more than 30 years. Calon continued working on animation production, but expanded into live-action content for both the UK and international markets, and to co-produce with major networks outside
333-553: A substantial private investment and attracted two top executives from BBC Children's International, Mikael Shields and Tony Stern. EVA Entertainment has made many series and specials, (the group's major productions were controlled creatively by Siriol) which were sold to over fifty different countries on five continents, including Robert Creep , Tales of the Tooth Fairies , Billy the Cat (the group's largest project) and Romuald
370-549: Is a British one-off half-hour animated Comedy programme screened on Channel 4 in December 2001. It was created by Blunt Films, the adult animation division of Siriol and written by Paul Rose . The voice of Knife was provided by former Monty Python member Terry Jones , whilst the part of his wife, Janine was voiced by actress Jessica Stevenson . Kevin Eldon , Ruth Jones , Paul Putner and Brian Murphy also did voices for
407-399: Is a stop-motion animation series for pre-school children, about Hana, a duck who runs a telephone helpline for animals with problems. The principal voices are provided by Arabella Weir , Jonathan Kydd , Joanna Ruiz , Boyd Clack and Caroline Harker with most of the other voices being provided by children. There are 52 episodes, each 10 minutes long. Its first broadcast was in Wales under
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#1732783162891444-661: Is the trading name of Mount Stuart Media Ltd., a British animation television production company based in Cardiff , the capital of Wales, which primarily produced Welsh animated series for S4C . The company was formerly known as Siriol Animation and Siriol Productions . Calon was set up following the management buy-out from Entertainment Rights of Siriol Productions, when Entertainment Rights moved its head office to London . Most members of staff stayed in Wales to help re-establish Siriol as an independent production company. The deal included all rights to current productions and
481-593: The sugar industry in Guyana ( British Guiana before independence in 1966), running five Booker Line ships, until it was nationalised around 1970. After six months, Booker was called back to market the sugar. Booker had a long history of exploitation of sugar workers through the indentured labour system during the 19th and 20th centuries (outright slavery was abolished in British Guiana before Booker's founding, but exploitative labour practices continued. All of
518-522: The 1950s voice recording by Richard Burton . These productions have enabled Robin Lyons to develop extensive contacts throughout the animation industry, both with broadcasters such as the BBC and ITV, and with other leading animation studios. In 1989, Siriol, together with three other animation studios in France, Germany and Belgium formed its own distribution company, EVA Entertainment, headed up by Steve Walsh,
555-522: The Booker brothers had claimed and received 'compensation' payments for their post 1815 Guiana slave holdings - see U.C.L. "Legacies of British Slave-ownership" index). At its peak, it controlled 75% of the sugar industry in British Guiana and was so powerful that a common joke was to refer to the country as "Booker's Guiana". In 1952, Jock Campbell took over the chairmanship of the company and his Fabian social politics transformed it dramatically into
592-722: The Film Panel of the Welsh Lottery, and several web-based animation projects including Once Upon A Morgue and Deadenders . The second subdivision was a web design subdivision called Piczled, which has designed the official Basil Brush website and theme park attractions for Chessington World of Adventures in Surrey and Alton Towers in Staffordshire. Piczled has also worked on other websites such as those for Siriol and Entertainment Rights. Knife and Wife
629-472: The Reindeer . The later two programmes were produced by Robin Lyons. When EVA was sold to Pearson PLC , Siriol formed other alliances with Scottish Television and SKD Media Plc . In 1998, Siriol was brought over by Sleepy Kids (renamed Entertainment Rights in 2000), with Lyons expanding his role within the new company. In 2005, a management buyout led by Lyons took place for Siriol Productions, and
666-489: The UK. In March 2009, the company re-acquired its animation catalogue from S4C International . In July 2010, the company filed for voluntary liquidation when hoped-for investment to expand the company failed to materialise. Shortly afterwards it was Incorporated into Mount Stuart Media Ltd. Two series of Hana's Helpline were produced for Channel 5 's Milkshake block for preschool children in co-production with S4C and German broadcaster ZDF . One series of Igam Ogam
703-576: The United Kingdom, through its different divisions. It operates cash and carry branches throughout the United Kingdom (as well as a few in India ) and operates a national delivery service in the United Kingdom. The industry journal The Grocer named Booker the "Green Wholesaler of the Year" at the Grocer Gold Awards. The group consists of several divisions each specialising in different areas of
740-409: The Welsh title Holi Hana , on 2 April 2007. Its first English broadcast was on Five on 12 June 2007. It has also been broadcast in a selection of other countries - for example it began broadcasting on TVB Pearl , starting 10 May 2007. Books are available from Random House Children's Books from January 2008. A line of character toys was also developed by Golden Bear Toys along with the first DVD of
777-761: The brand's logo of a smiling face with blonde hair was dropped from products and packaging, as part of a redesign by Partners In Communication, a design consultant company. In May 2000, Booker was purchased by Iceland Supermarkets , via its Big Food Group vehicle. Then, in December 2004, Big Food Group was in turn bought by acquisitive Icelandic group, Baugur , which split Booker and Iceland again into different companies. In June 2007, Booker reversed into an AIM listed wholesaler of groceries Blueheath, to form Booker Group plc. Baugur sold all its assets in Booker Cash & Carry in June 2008, only weeks after its founder
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#1732783162891814-474: The company was commissioned by S4C to produce another series called Wil Cwac Cwac which was based on a series of children's books that were first published in Wales in the early 1930s about a little duckling who is always naughty and lives in a farm village with his family and friends. This, in turn was followed by further commissions from S4C for half-hour specials created for the animated series Fox Tales . Lyons and Young have also been involved in working on
851-559: The copyrights of his friend Ian Fleming for £100,000. This purchase was the foundation of the Authors' Division, which also acquired rights to some well known authors' works, such as Georgette Heyer, whose company, Heron Enterprises, with eighteen of her copyrights, Booker bought in 1966 for £80,000, Dennis Wheatley , and the 64% stake in Agatha Christie 's works not controlled by her family. When, in 1968, Booker established
888-616: The former head of co-productions at Goldcrest Films . Its co-productions were grouped under the EC's CARTOON programme as part of its MEDIA initiative. EVA was the first grouping company established under this initiative. The group set up co-productions with major European broadcasters, typically with the BBC in the UK, FR3 and Canal+ in France and ZDF and WDR in Germany. It also made co-productions with other European partners as well as with US and Canadian co-producers. In 1995, EVA received
925-469: The independent Booker Prize Foundation in 2002, and became sponsored by the Man Group plc , who opted to retain the well known "Booker" name. Chairmen of the Authors' Division have included Charles William Tyrrell (1960s–1970s), Dennis H. Joss (1970s–1980s) and Agatha Christie 's grandson Mathew Caradoc Thomas Prichard (1990s–2000s). Calon (TV production company) Calon (Welsh for 'heart')
962-671: The merger was referred to the Office of Fair Trading it was cleared by the Competition Commission in April 2013. In May 2015, Booker Group confirmed it had reached an agreement with Musgrave Group to buy the Budgens and Londis grocery chains, for £40 million. In January 2017, Tesco announced that it had reached an agreement to merge with Booker Group for £3.7 billion, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval. It
999-523: The prestigious Booker Prize, it was with the money from the Fleming, Heyer and Christie purchases. In June 1998, Agatha Christie 's stakeholding was sold to Chorion for £10 million, who themselves sold it on in February 2012 to Acorn Media UK . The division also co founded and sponsored the prestigious Booker–McConnell Prize for literature in 1968, now known as Booker Prize . This was transferred to
1036-497: The series. The programme was part of the Channel 4 Comedy Lab try-out project, which had spawned several successful series including Trigger Happy TV and That Peter Kay Thing . No full series followed. Kalisto Ltd. is a short lived co-venture between the directors of Siriol Animation and Booker Group . Launched in 1986, the company has developed a show called Space Baby (which eventually became Fantastic Max , which
1073-546: The show which was released in November 2007. A second compilation was released in Spring 2008. Siriol Productions (also known as Dave Edwards Studio , "Siriol" means 'cheerful' in Welsh language ) was founded in 1982 by Mike Young , his wife Liz, animator Dave Edwards and producer Robin Lyons and based in Cardiff . The company was originally created when the three men approached the newly formed Welsh TV channel S4C and secured
1110-501: The wholesale market in the United Kingdom: The company also founded, and was previously a sponsor of, the Booker Prize for literary fiction, which was established in 1968. During Lord Campbell of Eskan 's tenure as chairman of the company, then known as Booker–McConnell, he was also instrumental in the setting up of the Booker's Authors' Division. Lord Campbell of Eskan purchased 51 per cent of Glidrose Ltd, which owned
1147-449: Was a smiling face with blonde hair. This logo was dropped from the Happy Shopper products and packaging in 2000, as part of a redesign by Partners In Communication , a design consultant company. As of 2024, the Jack's brand has replaced the Happy Shopper brand. This product article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a company of the UK is
Happy Shopper - Misplaced Pages Continue
1184-407: Was co-produced with Fairwater Films ) and the animated film The Little Engine That Could . Kalisto barely lasted a year before Booker bought the rights back. In November 1996, Booker bought Nurdin & Peacock, taking ownership of the convenience store operator and brand Happy Shopper . Happy Shopper's products are sold by Booker to independent convenience stores and off licences. In 2000,
1221-580: Was confirmed on 5 March 2018 that Tesco had completed its merger with Booker. Booker have been accused of forcing the closure of local businesses and shops through undercutting their prices in Tesco stores, the group's owner, while providing higher prices in their wholesale arm. Additionally, it has been accused of intentionally stopping deliveries of certain essential products to independent stores, in some cases reducing item selection by up to 30%. The company supplies approximately 1.5 million businesses across
1258-565: Was found guilty of accounting irregularities. Baugur collapsed in February 2009, amidst the Icelandic financial crisis . In September 2009, Booker opened a store in Mumbai and planned to expand its cash and carry stores across India. In May 2012, Metro Group sold the thirty stores of Makro in the United Kingdom and all operational assets to Booker Group Plc, in return for 9.99% of Booker's share capital, plus £15.8 million in cash; although
1295-573: Was founded by George and Richard Booker in 1835, when they bought their first ship and established the Booker Line, which focused on shipping goods. It later diversified into the distribution of goods, and gradually disposed of its fleet of ships. With a new focus on wholesale food distribution, the company had over 100 warehouses across the United Kingdom by 1978, and was trading as Booker McConnell Ltd. Among other interests, it operated
1332-494: Was made for S4C, Channel 5, ZDF Enterprises and the Gaelic Media Service on BBC Alba , and also a puppet series called The Zoo Factor for CBBC . Calon's live action drama credits included Help! I'm a Teenage Outlaw for ITV and Nickelodeon . In 2011, ITV asked Calon to create a new sitcom for the channel, and Calon worked with The Osmonds on develop a film based around the wild west. Hana's Helpline
1369-450: Was renamed Calon . Siriol set up two subdivisions. The first was Blunt Pictures, which produced animation aimed at older audiences. Blunt Pictures has produced a short film for Channel 4 , Dee’s Dish of the Day and developed the series, Stonehouse Reunion for Channel 4 and Days of Deliverance for S4C. Blunt has also developed a low budget feature, 360 , which has attracted funding from
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