 | |
 Thorntons shop in Banbury, pictured in 2008 | |
| Company type | Limited company |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1911) in Sheffield, England |
| Founder | William Joseph Thornton |
| Headquarters | Alfreton, Derbyshire, England |
Number of locations |  0 (all closed after Covid lockdowns in 2021)[note 1] |
| Products | Bonbons, chocolate bars, toffees, fudges |
| Revenue | £135 million (2018) |
| – £38.3 million (2018) | |
| – £22.9 million (2018) | |
Number of employees | 2,634 [2] |
| Parent | Ferrero[3] |
| Website | thorntons.com |
Thorntons Limited is a British chocolate manufacturer owned by the Italian confectionery company, Ferrero. It was established in 1911 by William Joseph Thornton and Joseph Thornton, his father, in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England.
When Cadbury became part of the Mondelez International predecessor Kraft Foods, Thorntons had become the largest confectionery-only parent company in Britain. The company was purchased by the Italian firm Ferrero in June 2015 for £112m.[4]
Until and during the Second World War, the company was an established toffee and fudge maker. With post war rationing ending, the group's primary focus shifted to Belgian and Swiss-style chocolate in sets.[2][5]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
ThorntonsWebsite2020was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b A minority of sales is in novelties, decoration and café outlet remittances.Full accounts made up to the 31st August 2018 Thorntons Ltd Annual Report 2018|Companies House. Retrieved 16 May 2020
- ^ "Thorntons: Chocolate maker to close all shops putting 600 jobs at risk". BBC News. 15 March 2021.
- ^ Sarah Butler (22 June 2015). "Thorntons bought by Ferrero for £112m". The Guardian.
- ^ Clark, Andrew (7 May 2011). "Thorntons: why the chocolate-maker has gone into meltdown". The Observer. The Guardian (theguardian.com). Retrieved 11 July 2015.
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