Yildiz sets up London-based subsidiary

Turkish food group Yildiz has set up a London-based company, it was revealed this week, in a bid to boost its access to global markets and investors.

The privately-held Istanbul-based conglomerate, owned by the Ülker family, owns a number of international brands including Godiva chocolates and McVitie’s biscuits.

Its new wholly-owned UK subsidiary has been dubbed Pladis, with Yildiz reportedly planning to grow the company towards an initial public offering within three or four years.

“Pladis is a global company and London is a global city,” chief executive Cam Karakas told Reuters.

The company will combine Godiva chocolate with United Biscuits and its majority holding in the Istanbul-traded Ulker Biskuvi.

Among its plans are the launch of Godiva chocolate and cakes on the UK grocery market, expanding McVitie’s biscuits globally, as well as improving sales and distribution in the US and growing markets in the Middle East and Africa.

Yildiz would not be drawn on how large an IPO it was aiming for, but it did confirm it intends to remain the majority shareholder.