Business Environment: Hilton Food Group PLC

Business Environment
1

Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................3
Company structure and management..........................................................................................3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................6
PESTLE Analysis........................................................................................................................6
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................8
PESTLE of Hilton Food Group PLC..........................................................................................8
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................10
References......................................................................................................................................11
2

Introduction
Business environment refers to sum total of all internal and external factors that are
affecting its operations. These could be factors such as employees, customers, suppliers, owners,
market trends, economy, etc. Study of business environment helps a company in early
identification of opportunities and risks present for it (Dhir). Early identification of opportunities
and risks helps in strategic planning to improve overall performance and growth of the business.
This report on business environment is presented in context of Hilton Food Group PLC.
General overview of company's organisational structure and management is discussed. To
evaluate external factors affecting the business organisation, PESTLE analysis of company is
also discussed. PESTLE analysis plays a key role in strategic planning as it makes it easy for
management to have a deeper understanding of the political, environmental, social, technological
legal and economical factors affecting its business operations.
Task 1
Company structure and management
Hilton Food Group PLC is a food packaging company headquartered in Huntingdon,
UK. It sources primal meat from quality suppliers and packs them for further distribution by
third party. It specialises in customised preparing, packaging and supplying roasting joints,
steaks, chops and minces to major international food retailers like Tesco, Ahold, Albert Hejin,
ICA, Rimi and Coop Denmark. It was established in 1994 to operate a beef and lamb central
meat packing facility in Huntingdon to supply to Tesco UK. By 2006, it had expanded its
operations to Netherlands, Ireland, Sweden, Poland and Slovakia to supply to Ahold Group and
ICA. In 2007, it brought out its first initial public offering (IPO) with a premium listing on
London Stock Exchange. It started supplying Rimi stores in 2009 and Coop Denmark in 2011. It
further expanded its business by upgrading its present facilities, adding new products, opening
new factories, entering into various joint ventures such as with Woolworths in Australia, Sonae
in Portugal, Dalco Food in Netherlands and acquisitions such as Seachill and SV Cuisine in UK
(History of Hilton Food Group).
3

Management of the company
Board of Directors also referred to as senior management are elected by shareholders to
set and oversee policies for corporate management. There are two types of directors – executive
and non-executive. Legal duties, responsibilities and liabilities of both the type of directors are
same even though non-executive directors are not responsible for daily operations management
while executive directors are those members of board who have executive responsibility of
running the company's business. Operations of Hilton is also managed by its Board of Directors.
Board includes seven directors out of which three are executive directors and four are non-
executive (Board of Directors of Hilton Food Group): Robert Watson – He serves as the executive chairman of the Hilton Group from 01st
July 2018. He had joined the organisation in 2002 as Chief Executive Officer(CEO) after
working for Foyle Food Group which he had co-founded with his father in 1977. There
also he was serving as CEO since 1987 and had led Foyle through significant turnover
growth. Robert earned a diploma from Institute of Directors in 1996. He had also been
awarded Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2000 for his services to the meat industry.
He also serves as Chairman of the Nomination Committee. He has a personality of the
industry leader and has led the successful growth of the Group to date from forefront. Philip Heffer – He serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Hilton Group from 01st
July 2018. He had been with Hilton since the beginning of the Group in 1994. He held
4
Illustration 1: Structure: Hilton Food Group PLC