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John Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury of Preston Candover

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(Redirected from John Sainsbury, 1st Baron Sainsbury) British businessman (1927–2022)

The Right HonourableThe Lord Sainsbury of Preston CandoverKG
Lord Sainsbury in the robes of a Knight Companion of the Garter
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
In office
31 January 1989 – 14 January 2022
as a life peer
Personal details
BornJohn Davan Sainsbury
(1927-11-02)2 November 1927
Died14 January 2022(2022-01-14) (aged 94)
Political partyConservative
SpouseAnya Linden
RelationsRobert Sainsbury (uncle)
ParentAlan Sainsbury
Alma materWorcester College, Oxford
Known forbusinessman, politician and peer

John Davan Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury of Preston Candover, KG (2 November 1927 – 14 January 2022) was a British businessman and politician. He served as the President of Sainsbury's, and sat in the House of Lords as a life peer and member of the Conservative Party.

Early life

Stowe School

He was the son of Alan Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury, and the nephew of Sir Robert Sainsbury. His younger brothers were Simon and Timothy, former Conservative Minister of Trade; David Sainsbury, former Labour Minister for Science, was a cousin. His great-grandparents, John James Sainsbury and Mary Ann Staples, established a grocer's at 173 Drury Lane in 1869 which became the British supermarket chain Sainsbury's. When working for Sainsbury's he was sometimes referred to as "Mr JD Sainsbury".

Sainsbury was Head Boy of Sandroyd School, before heading to Stowe School and then Worcester College, Oxford, where he studied History.

Business career

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Lord Sainsbury joined Sainsbury's in 1950 (the year the first self-service store opened in Croydon), working in the grocery department. The next year he became a buyer. He later became in charge of many other aspects of the business, including bacon buying in 1956. He became a director of the Company, then known as J. Sainsbury Ltd., in 1958, becoming Deputy chairman in 1967 following his father Alan Sainsbury's retirement.

Lord Sainsbury took over from his uncle Sir Robert Sainsbury as chairman and chief executive in 1969. At the time, although Sainsbury's had always been the largest UK grocery retailer by market share since 1922, Tesco's profits were double those of Sainsbury's, and Marks & Spencer's were nine times those of Sainsbury's.

He led the company on to the London Stock Exchange on 12 July 1973, which was at the time the largest flotation ever. Dubbed "The sale of the century" by the press, his family at the time retained control with an 85% stake. Whilst his cousin, David Sainsbury, inherited his father Robert Sainsbury's entire 18% shareholding, Lord Sainsbury had to split his father Alan Sainsbury's 18% stake with his younger brothers The Hon. Simon Sainsbury and The Rt Hon. Sir Timothy Sainsbury, and so they held 6% each.

During his 23 years as chairman, Sainsbury's replaced all its 82 counter service stores with modern supermarkets, and the number of UK grocery stores increased from 244 stores (including 162 self-service shops) to 313 supermarkets, whilst the average size of new supermarkets increased from 8,120 sq ft (754 m) to 34,980 sq ft (3,250 m). The range of products increased from 4,000 (including 1,500 own brand products) to 16,000 (including 8,000 own brand products). He was said to personally taste own brand products himself to make sure he was satisfied with its quality control, and personally approved every own brand product packaging design himself before the official launch of each new own brand product. He was said to turn up unannounced at stores by helicopter to patrol the aisles and highlight deficiencies.

He led Sainsbury's into the United States through the purchase of Shaw's, a US supermarket chain, and started both the Homebase and Savacentre ventures. Shaw's and Homebase have since been sold, whilst Savacentre has been re-branded under the core Sainsbury's brand.

Between 1973 and 1992, the company's market capitalisation increased from £117m to £8.115bn due to an increase in the share price from 9p to 464p (on 15 May 1992). Between 1969 and 1992 sales increased from £166m to £9.202bn and profit before tax increased from £4.3m to £628m. The Company also boasted the highest sales per square foot in the food retailing industry and the market share of the UK supermarket business increased from 2.5% to 10.4%. Sainsbury's also overtook both Tesco and Marks & Spencer (the latter shortly before his retirement on his 65th birthday on 2 November 1992) to become the UK's largest and most successful supermarket chain. Following his retirement, his cousin and Labour supporter David Sainsbury (now Lord Sainsbury of Turville) became chairman. Tesco overtook Sainsbury's to become the UK's largest supermarket chain in 1995, and David Sainsbury stepped down as chairman in 1998 to pursue his long-held ambition to have a career in politics.

Although Lord Sainsbury retired, he was Life President of the retailer and continued to take an active interest in the business. He toured stores with then chief executive Mike Coupe as well as being the family member always attending J Sainsbury plc Annual General Meetings. He also served as a Joint President of the Sainsbury's Veteran Association along with former Sainsbury's CEO Dino Adriano.

He was also the family member with a large shareholding that was most reluctant to sell down his stake. During the sell down of the family stake between 2005 and 2008 from 35% to 15%, it was Lord Sainsbury who was the last major family shareholder to reduce his stake, in his case from 4% to 3.89%, the 0.11% sold having belonged to a non-beneficial trust held by him.

J Sainsbury plc was informed on 5 December 2006 by Lord Sainsbury of Preston Candover that he no longer held a reportable interest in the Company following the transfer of shares within his family. As a result, his 3.89% shareholding in Sainsbury's was no longer reportable.

During the takeover bids for Sainsbury's during 2007, Lord Sainsbury used N M Rothschild & Sons as his financial advisor and was said to be the major family shareholder most resistant to selling his stake. Indeed, during the private equity takeover bid during the first half of 2007, he was said to be refusing to sell his stake of just under 3% at any price.

As of August 2009, Lord Sainsbury continued to control just under 3% of the company. Although David Sainsbury controls the largest family shareholding of 5.85%, and Lord Sainsbury controlled just under 3%, the beneficial holding of David Sainsbury was only 0.57%, compared with 1.6% for JD Sainsbury. The Sainsbury family as a whole control approximately 15% of Sainsbury's. In the Sunday Times Rich List 2013 his family fortune was estimated at £1.97 billion.

He was a member of the Steering Committee of the Bilderberg Group.

Charitable works

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In 1985 he and his two brothers provided funds to construct a new wing of the National Gallery, London, at a cost of around £50 million, which opened in 1991 as the Sainsbury Wing. He disliked the addition of several internal false columns in the wing so much that he had a letter expressing their satisfaction at an anticipated eventual removal secretly encased in one of the columns; this letter was only uncovered in 2024 during the wing's renovation.

With his wife, he also ran the Linbury Trust, which offers grants to various projects in the fields of the Arts, Education, Environment & Heritage, Medical, Social Welfare and Developing Countries. One of the most notable projects funded by the Linbury Trust was the 1990s redevelopment of the Royal Opera House in London. The Linbury Studio Theatre in the building was named in recognition of the substantial contribution made by the trust.

In 1987, Lady Sainsbury founded the biennial Linbury Prize for Stage Design, which identifies and encourages talented newcomers to the field of theatre design; the Prize continues to be funded solely by the Linbury Trust.

In 1993, he joined with Lord Rothschild to set up the Butrint Foundation to record and conserve the archaeological site of Butrint in Albania.

In September 2010 he donated £25m to the British Museum, which the BBC reported as the biggest gift to the arts in two decades.

Personal life and death

Sainsbury was married to the former ballerina Anya Linden. They had three children.

He was knighted in 1980 for services to the food retailing industry, and was made a life peer on 31 January 1989 with the title Baron Sainsbury of Preston Candover, of Preston Candover in the County of Hampshire. He became a Knight Companion of the Garter in 1992.

Sainsbury died on 14 January 2022, at the age of 94.

Arms

Coat of arms of John Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury of Preston Candover
Notes
Knight since 1980
Coronet
A Coronet of a Baron
Crest
Out of a British mural crown Azure a leopard sejant Or seme of Torteau holding a column Or.
Torse
Mantling Or and Gules.
Escutcheon
Azure on a fess dancetty between three cornucopias Or three lyres Gules.
Supporters
Two leopards proper, standing with the interior foot resting on a Cornucopia Or.
Compartment
Vert
Motto
AD EXCELLENTIAM CONTENDERE
Latin: To maintain excellence
Orders
The Order of the Garter.
Banner
The banner of the Baron Sainsbury of Preston Candover's arms used as Knight Companion of the Garter depicted at St George's Chapel.
Symbolism
The cornucopia symbolises the family's grocery business. The "fess dancetty" (horizontal stripe with zig-zag edges) represents Lord Sainsbury's links with ballet. The lyres symbolise his patronage of music. His interest in wines is represented by the leopards which were chosen because Bacchus, god of wine, is sometimes represented in a chariot drawn by leopards. The Corinthian column in the crest refers to the arts and architecture, towards which he has made contributions.

References

  1. "Lord Sainsbury and family". Sunday Times Rich List 2008. 27 April 2008. Archived from the original on 12 June 2011. Retrieved 20 April 2009.
  2. "Lord Sainsbury of Preston Candover". The Grocer. 6 January 2012. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  3. "Is running Sainsbury's the worst job in Britain?". The Guardian. London. 18 April 2004.
  4. "Sainsbury's: In a nation of shopkeepers, meet the first family". The Guardian. London. 19 July 2003.
  5. "Sunday Times Rich List: The changing face of wealth". BBC News. 18 April 2013.
  6. "Former Steering Committee Members". Bilderberg Group. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
  7. "The Sainsbury Brothers". The National Gallery. Archived from the original on 3 November 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  8. "Sainsbury Wing contractors find 1990 letter from donor anticipating their demolition of false columns". The Art Newspaper. 27 August 2024. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  9. "No. 48059". The London Gazette (Supplement). 8 January 1980. p. 288.
  10. "No. 48160". The London Gazette. 18 April 1980. p. 5815.
  11. "No. 51640". The London Gazette. 8 February 1989. p. 1615.
  12. "Parliamentary career for Lord Sainsbury of Preston Candover - MPS and Lords - UK Parliament".
  13. "No. 52903". The London Gazette. 24 April 1992. p. 7175.
  14. "Sainsbury's statement: Death of Lord Sainsbury of Preston Candover". Sainsbury's. 14 January 2022.
  15. Image of the Baron Sainsbury's arms at St George's Chapel Archived 31 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
  16. Baron Sainsbury's crest.Heraldic Sculptor. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
  17. Sainsbury of Preston Candover's Arms Blazon, Cracroft's Peerage. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
  18. Chessyre, Hubert (1995–1996). "The Heraldry of the Garter Banners" (PDF). Report of the Society of the Friends of St George's and the Descendants of the Knights of the Garter. VII (7): 290–291. Retrieved 19 January 2022.

External links

Sainsbury's
Key people
(Sainsbury family)
Retail operations
Customer programmes
Products
Former formats/interests
Former subsidiaries
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