fast food restaurants founded 1928 founder harry ramsden 1888 1963 headquarters london london england products fish and chips and themed dishes website http www.harryramsdens.co.uk harry ramsden s is a fast food restaurant chain based in the united kingdom which offers fish and chips and assorted themed dishes . the business has 45 owned and franchised outlets throughout the uk and ireland and serves around four million meals annually . harry ramsden s website claims the business to be britain s longest established restaurant chain . 1 contents 1 early history 2 expansion 3 ssp ownership and future 4 undercover boss 5 licensing 6 see also 7 references 8 external links early history edit the guiseley branch of harry ramsden s in 2007 the business was started by harry ramsden 10 feb 1888 1963 in 1928 in a wooden hut in white cross guiseley west yorkshire northern england . three years later he moved into a new premises complete with fitted carpets oak panelled walls and chandeliers . the original hut still stands on the same site adjacent to the main restaurant which once held the guinness world record for the largest fish and chip shop in the world seating 250 people serving nearly a million customers a year . harry corbett of sooty fame was a nephew of harry ramsden and played the piano in his uncle s original restaurant . 2 in 1954 the business was sold to harry ramsden s long term business partner eddie stokes for a large sum of gb 37 500 subsequently selling in 1965 to essex based associated fisheries . 3 expansion edit in 1988 the company which still comprised the original guiseley fish and chips premises was bought by merryweathers led by chairmen john barnes and richard richardson . 4 barnes and richardson led the transition of the business from a single restaurant in yorkshire to a world famous brand . in 1989 following a decision by their bank to withdraw funding the management floated the company on the london stock exchange . the public offer was over subscribed by two and a half times . the next ten years saw rapid expansion throughout the uk and worldwide through company owned and franchised restaurants . worldwide locations in hong kong australia epcot and saudi arabia added to the growing stature as an international brand . 5 a franchise deal with granada motorway services to develop kiosk style units ultimately led to granada ltd buying harry ramsden s for gb 20 million in october 1999 . when acquired by granada harry ramsden s comprised four company owned restaurants twenty five franchises and sixteen henry higgins units . granada expanded harry ramsden s into motorway locations . some franchise territories infringed onto motorways so granada bought the franchises back . in 2000 compass merged with granada . under compass the business was expanded into motorway service station kiosks contract catering locations such as schools post office canteens little chef butlins and haven holidays . ssp ownership and future edit by april 2006 compass had spun off its motorway service stations to moto bought by macquarie bank of sydney australia . its specialist airports and railways division ssp was sold for gb 1 822 million to eqt partners of sweden who also own findus . harry ramsden s was sold with the ssp business . under the early years of ssp ownership the business had to compete with other ssp brands for investment . in 2008 ssp recruited industry turnaround specialist chris sullivan as managing director . 6 7 during 2009 sullivan led a radical revision of the food on offer improving quality reducing wait times and removing menu items which were more pub restaurant than chip shop . the strategy delivered a marked improvement in sales in the food court and seaside restaurant business of harry ramsden s prompting parent company ssp to market the business for sale . citation needed on 19 january 2010 ssp sold harry ramsden s to boparan ventures limited . 8 bvl is the private investment vehicle of ranjit boparan . bvl planned to open another 100 units in the next five years and create 600 new jobs . 9 on 29 november 2011 it was announced that the original harry ramsden s restaurant in guiseley leeds would close amid statements from the owners that it was losing money and that any refurbishment to make it profitable would not be viable . 10 the restaurant closed on monday 19 december 2011 . 11 in february 2012 it was announced that the guiseley restaurant had been sold to the wetherby whaler group . 12 it reopened on 22 may 2012 under the wetherby whaler name . 13 bvl are continuing to invest in the harry ramsden s brand with their bournemouth branch holding the title for world s largest fish and chip restaurant seating 417 diners across its restaurant cafe and terrace . 14 undercover boss edit in 2010 the chain was the focus of an episode of the channel 4 television series undercover boss . the then ceo of the company marija simovic posed as a new starter in a variety of locations swindon merry hill shopping centre blackpool southampton and great yarmouth to try to understand why the company was struggling in today s market . at the end of the programme simovic promised big changes in a bid to turn around the company s fortunes along with promoting a number of employees who had impressed her . licensing edit under the name of the brand premier foods sell mushy peas since april 2006 and birdseye since 2012 selling frozen fish . see also edit food portal companies portal list of fish and chip restaurants list of seafood restaurants references edit harry ramsden s boss undercover . famemagazine.co.uk . retrieved 21 september 2010 . harry ramsdens in general review warning this is going to make you feel seriously hungry . dooyoo.co.uk . retrieved 26 february 2010 . harry ramsden the uncrowned king of fish and chips . isbn 1 85568 088 2 . http www.marketingjudo.co.uk about.php marketing judo isbn 0 273 66316 x ssp the food travel experts . foodtravelexperts.com . 4 april 2009 . retrieved 26 february 2010 . fantastic feast for the girls blackpool today . blackpoolgazette.co.uk . retrieved 26 february 2010 . ssp the food travel experts . foodtravelexperts.com . 15 november 2007 . retrieved 26 february 2010 . chicken magnate gobbles up harry ramsden s with promises of 100 new outlets . yorkshire post . 20 january 2010 . retrieved 26 february 2010 . first harry ramsden s restaurant to close in leeds . bbc news . bbc . 29 november 2011 . retrieved 24 december 2011 . guiseley restaurant is stripped out . wharfedale observer . 23 december 2011 . retrieved 24 december 2011 . first harry ramsden s chip shop bought by whaler group . bbc news . 6 february 2012 . retrieved 16 april 2014 . harry ramsden s re opens under new owners . the guardian . 22 may 2012 . retrieved 16 june 2013 . devlin mary jo 12 july 2013 . news bournemouth restaurant biggest in the world . harry ramsden s. retrieved 16 april 2014 . external links edit official website media related to harry ramsden s at wikimedia commons v t e food chains in the united kingdom casual dining angus steakhouse ask beefeater grill bella italia brewers fayre byron hamburgers caf rouge carluccio s chiquito damon s ed s easy diner frankie & benny s giraffe gourmet burger kitchen harry ramsden s harvester hungry horse la tasca little chef loch fyne restaurants nando s ok diner pizza hut pizzaexpress prezzo strada table table taybarns t.g.i. friday s toby carvery tony roma s wagamama wahaca wildwood kitchen zizzi fast food barburrito burger king chicken cottage chipotle mexican grill dixy chicken domino s pizza five guys kfc mcdonald s morley s papa john s pizza sam s chicken sbarro southern fried chicken subway taco bell tops pizza tortilla wasabi wimpy yo sushi baked goods auntie anne s cinnabon cooplands ditsch dunkin donuts eat greggs krispy kreme millie s cookies patisserie valerie pret a manger sayers spudulike upper crust the west cornwall pasty company coffee shops and tea rooms amt coffee betty s caff nero caff ritazza coffee 1 coffee republic costa coffee harris hoole starbucks dairy baskin robbins ben & jerry s kaspa s shakeaway pub chains all bar one chef & brewer o neill s scream pubs slug and lettuce walkabout wetherspoons yates s v t e restaurant chains in ireland coffeehouse butlers chocolate caf caf nero caff ritazza costa coffee esquires insomnia coffee company starbucks fast food restaurants abrakebabra apache pizza burger king domino s pizza four star pizza kfc mcdonald s supermac s casual dining the counter eddie rocket s gourmet burger kitchen hard rock caf harry ramsden s milano nando s pizza hut t.g.i. friday s wagamama yo sushi sandwich shops o briens quiznos subway upper crust retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title harry ramsden % 27s & oldid 743740843 categories fast food seafood restaurantsenglish brandscatering and food service companies of the united kingdomrestaurants established in 1928restaurants in englandrestaurant chains in 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