Mole Valley Farmers
TypeAgricultural cooperative
IndustryAgriculture / Retail
Founded1960 (1960)
Headquarters
South Molton, Devon, South West England
,
United Kingdom
Key people
  • Jack Cordery (CEO)
    G.M. Cock (Chairman)
[1]
Revenue£615 Million
Number of employees
2100 +[2]
Websitewww.moleonline.com

Mole Valley Farmers is a retail and agricultural supply business with its headquarters in Southwest England. It is run as a cooperative and in 2021-22 the company had a turnover of £615 million. As well as 50 stores, the firm owns feed mills, fertiliser blending plants, a specialist mineral plant, and farm building division.

History

Mole Valley Farmers was founded in 1960 by a small group of farmers in South Molton, Devon. The aim was to create an agricultural buying-group that would be able to offer agricultural items to farmers at lower prices by buying in bulk.[3] Mole Valley Farmers takes its name from an area in North Devon, between the towns of North Molton and South Molton. The River Mole runs through this area. There is no connection with the Mole Valley, a district in Surrey in South East England[4] or the River Mole that runs between Dorking and Leatherhead.

Business model

The company is operated as a cooperative with members each holding shares in the company. A key part of this is that the company operates on the smallest margin possible to allow continuity and growth. It is not a requirement to be a member of the company to shop there. Today, Mole Valley Farmers is one of the few agricultural cooperatives in the supply industry and one of the largest in the UK.[5]

Mole Valley Farmers owns thirteen branches in South West England, their own feed mills (for animal feeds, at Calne Dorchester, Huntworth and Lifton), fertiliser blending plants, a specialist mineral plant (at Bridgwater), a farm building division (at Witheridge)[6] and a commercial / informational website.[7] The range of goods supplied by Mole Valley Farmers has grown since the company's early beginnings and now includes lifestyle products such as clothing, footwear, garden supplies, pet food, white goods and power tools. However, the firm still has a focus on supplying farmers with direct-to-farm bulk agricultural products. In 2016-17 the company had a turnover of £464m.[8]

The company's closest competitors include ForFarmers, NWF Agriculture, and the Wynnstay Group Plc.

Locations

Mole Valley Farmers has 50 branches. These are:[3][9]

Mergers and acquisitions

In 2002, Mole Valley Farmers acquired SCATS Countrystores, which has 19 stores across the south of England.[3] and bought the Buckinghamshire-based rural supplier, Cox & Robinson Farm and Country in 2011.[10]

Countrywide acquisition

On 27 October 2018 it was announced that Mole Valley had agreed to acquire all retail store locations along with the website and staff from Countrywide.[11] However, this was subject to review by the Competition and Markets Authority and on 6 March 2018 the CMA referred the buy out for an in-depth phase 2 investigation. Countrywide concluded that it would be unable to meet its financial obligations for this extended period of time and so went into administration.[12][13][8]

References

  1. ↑ "Annual reports and accounts 2015" (PDF). Mole Valley Farmers.
  2. ↑ "About Us". Mole Valley Farmers. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 "History of Mole Valley Farmers". Mole Valley Farmers. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  4. ↑ "Mole Valley District Council". Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  5. ↑ "Mole Valley Farmers delivers strong financial results to Farmer Shareholders". Farming Monthly. 3 January 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  6. ↑ "Mole Valley Farmers Website". Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  7. ↑ "Mole Valley Farmers Website". Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  8. 1 2 Meredith, Andrew (14 March 2018). "Adjudicator role in Countrywide collapse under scrutiny". Farmers Weekly. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  9. ↑ "Store Directory | Mole Online". www.moleonline.com. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
  10. ↑ Spackman, Paul (15 November 2011). "Mole Valley Farmers continues to grow". Farmers Weekly. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  11. ↑ "COUNTRYWIDE AGREES TERMS TO SELL ITS RETAIL BUSINESS TO MOLE VALLEY FARMERS LTD". Countrywide Farmers. 23 October 2017. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  12. ↑ "NOTICE FILED TO APPOINT ADMINISTRATORS". Countrywide Farmers. 6 March 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  13. ↑ "Mole Valley Farmers / Countrywide Farmers merger inquiry". gov.uk. 9 March 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2018.

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