When we began in 1977, we had little more than confidence which came from a thorough grounding in the meat industry and the Will to succeed.

Turning over £1m in the first year we have grown the business by 8,000 per cent! Taking the opportunities as they have arisen, our team now number 150 across the Group.

The ownership of the company remains in the hands of Jeffrey Davies and his immediate family. It is testament to the loyalty and commitment of all members of staff that many have been employees for more than twenty years. Perhaps too it has been due the maxim of paramount importance has been and is that ‘people matter most' and in spite of the rigors of the industry the continuing investment in people and assets keeps us at the forefront of a rapidly changing environment.

In 2008, Jeffrey Davies and Davies moved from Sevenoaks, Kent to new premises at Gillingham, where the ‘new' factory exceeds the required standard by considerable measure and enables the company to meet even the very highest demands from its customers for all species of meat and poultry.

J.F.Edwards and Son, that part of the business located in Smithfield, is probably the largest, wholesaler operating in that famous market, offering an enormously wide range of all species of meat, poultry and game to its customers located in and around London and as far away as Coventry, Cambridge and the South Coast.

No one can view the future with certainty, however, with the courage and enthusiasm that has been the hallmark of the company's culture since its inception we can be confident that the business is ready for all and any challenge that is ahead.

It is no coincidence that we have chosen a silver hallmark with which to brand the group. In 1977, a special hallmark was struck in commemoration of the jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II and so in the year of our inception we established the now easily recognisable “Seal of Approval”. These days, as our logo, we have a series of hallmarks for each company in the group. After all, a hallmark is a sign of authenticity, a guarantee of purity and a mark of excellence.

Our philosophy is about people. We strive to be the “preferred supplier of our customers and the preferred customer for our suppliers” – simply said but requiring a great deal of effort to achieve. As we said before, “people matter most – whoever they are”.

  “If you find a way of working so that people are cared for, they will give of their best,strive for excellence or at least do better than the competition. That way round you cannot lose. Yes, it is about good staff canteen, pay and pension; but in the end it is about caring”

Sir Hector Laing, Biscuit Maker