Somerset family cidermaker Thatchers has appointed former CBI boss and trade minister Lord Digby Jones to its board as a non-executive director.
Lord Jones, who was director-general of the CBI for six years, is a champion of British business at home and abroad. He is a regular – and often outspoken – commentator on TV and in the media on business matters.
Thatchers managing director Martin Thatcher, the fourth generation of his family to run the business, said: “I have known Lord Jones for a number of years and have the utmost respect for his enthusiasm, knowledge, experience and business insight.
“At a time when our business is undergoing a period of sustained growth, I am confident that he will bring a new dynamic to Thatchers that will enable us to continue our development, mindful of the family values at the heart of the company.”
Lord Jones joins Thatchers, which produces 50m litres of craft cider a year at Sandford, near Weston-super-Mare, as it continues to grow its market share in the UK and reinforce its position as the country’s foremost independent cidermaker.
The 110-year-old firm is starting to explore new overseas markets, including Australia and the US, and has just returned from a fact-finding trip to seven major Chinese cities to explore potential trade opportunities – including the country’s beer capital of Qingdao, famous for its Tsingtao lager.
Lord Jones said: “I am thrilled to be joining such a fabulous family business at such an exciting time. Thatchers is expanding both in the specialist lines they deliver and in the markets they sell to, especially new export markets around the world. I look forward to helping them as they go from strength to strength.”
Last year Thatchers, entered the lucrative US market for the first time in its 110-year history and now sells its flagship Gold in bars in more than 20 states.
Cider sales are rising rapidly around the world with over 100% growth in Australia and the US over the last few years.
While Lord Jones accepted a ministerial post in the then Department of Trade and Industry in Gordon Brown’s government, he did not join the Labour Party or take its whip in the House of Lords – and he was a sharp critic of what he saw as Labour’s anti-business stance under former leader Ed Miliband.
Pictured: Lord Jones, right, with Thatcher’s MD Martin Thatcher
