>The owners of McVitie’s are the mystery organisation behind a controversial donation to Glasgow City Council, The Herald understands.
>Last week, at a private meeting, councillors were told Pladis want to hand over £1 million to the local authority.
>It is understood the money will be spent in the East End of the city, where the firm closed its factory in 2022, with the loss of around 470 jobs.
>The shock closure of the Tollcross plant after nearly 100 years of production, was despite the efforts of an action group, led by union chiefs, business people, and politicians, including Kate Forbes and council leader Susan Aitken.
>Unions estimated that shutting the business and the knock-on impact on suppliers cost the Scottish economy around £50m.
>It is understood councillors accepted the donation last week at a private session of the City Administration Committee.
>Unusually — as reported by our sister paper, the Glasgow Times — the senior council officials in the Chief Executive’s Department who were involved in talks were required to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
>No members of the public or press were allowed to hear the committee’s discussion.
>The demand for privacy came from Pladis, who made clear that they did not want to talk publicly about the donation or even have it acknowledged.
>Officers will prepare a further report to the committee to discuss how the money will be spent in Tollcros, and whether it will be through grants to organisations or groups in that part of the city or some other means.
>Pladis acquired McVitie’s in 2014 after taking over United Biscuits and is now reportedly the third-biggest biscuit maker in the world.
>They reported record sales growth in 2023, thanks to a hike in the cost of biscuits, in response to unprecedented high inflation.
>Murat Ulker, chairman of Pladis and the richest man in Turkey, is believed to be worth around £4.3 billion.
>Louise Gilmour, GMB Scotland secretary, questioned whether or not the firm would expected anything in return for their money.
>“Doing secret deals for anonymous donations from multinational companies seems an odd way for a local authority to go about its business,” she said.
>“It seems even odder when the company has recently shut down a historic factory and laid off hundreds of workers while ignoring widespread opposition.
>“Are we expected to be charitable and simply accept there is no quid pro quo, that this company wants nothing in return for its money, while the whole thing is wrapped up in secrecy?
>“The workers who lost their jobs when Pladis peremptorily shut down McVitie’s will not be so charitable and deserve to know why this money was not spent investing in their plant and saving their jobs.
>“This agreement, whatever it is, cannot be hidden away like a guilty secret. The workers of McVitie’s and the people of Glasgow deserve to know exactly what is going on.”
>Labour MSP Paul Sweeney said the money was “certainly better than nothing” but did little to “make amends for the industrial vandalism committed by McVitie’s when they closed their Victoria Biscuit Works in Tollcross in 2022.”
>He added: “The economic damage inflicted on the east end of the city when 470 skilled workers were made redundant from the plant, which was first opened a century ago by Glasgow baker Macfarlane Lang & Co, is far in excess of this tokenistic million pounds offered up to Glasgow City Council.
>
>“When workers left the site for the final time in 2022, they left behind state-of-the-art machinery that was dismantled and shipped off to McVitie’s factories in England.
>”This was machinery paid for by over £1m of Scottish Enterprise grants, so this donation is merely indirectly returning public money. The company also stands to profit from the eventual redevelopment of the former factory site.
>“With my colleagues in GMB Scotland and Unite, I campaigned to oppose the closure of the Tollcross biscuit works and worked to find alternatives, I know this donation will be cold comfort to former employees of McVitie’s and the people of the east end of Glasgow.”
>A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said: “Members agreed to accept the donation at committee last week and a further report will come forward in due course. We can’t comment further at this stage.”
>Pladis has been approached for comment.
>It is not the first controversial donation to Glasgow City Council from a biscuit company.
>Scotland’s largest local authority previously accepted a second hand £235,000 Rolls-Royce from Sir Boyd Tunnock.
>The caramel wafer and teacake tycoon gifted the local authority the luxury car in 2018.
>However, it was only used for around a year, before being sold at auction in 2022 for around £105,000, with the money used to support a number of projects and charitable funds.
Quite a strange story this, and as the article notes it’s not the first time Glasgow’s benefited from big biscuit.
>Last week, at a private meeting, councillors were told Pladis want to hand over £1 million to the local authority.
>It is understood the money will be spent in the East End of the city, where the firm closed its factory in 2022, with the loss of around 470 jobs.
Reparations of sorts? If it is, it’s very little for the effect the closure had.
Edit- Nevermind:
>“When workers left the site for the final time in 2022, they left behind state-of-the-art machinery that was dismantled and shipped off to McVitie’s factories in England.
>”This was machinery paid for by over £1m of Scottish Enterprise grants, so this donation is merely indirectly returning public money. The company also stands to profit from the eventual redevelopment of the former factory site.
I don’t think the journalist /the Herald know what a secret is
Take the donation and then still go after them for the £1million from Scottish Enterprise.
Fuck them.
So the machinery that was dismantled from the Glasgow site and sent to McVitie’s factories in England (seems to be a trend in recent years: relocation of Scottish jobs to England) had been paid for by over £1m of Scottish Enterprise grants…should the money not go back to the Scottish Government then rather than Glasgow City Council? Or is the money meant to keep the council onside for the future redevelopment of the site (from which Pladis stands to benefit)?
That’s mare like it!!!
I’d wondered where philanthropy had gone!!!
We need more of this!!…much, much, more!!!
This really does take the biscuit.
“Secret”
Call me stupid but there’s a difference between a confidential meeting which is minuted and can be subject to a Freedom of Information request and a secret.
Trust me it will be lining pockets. I know of first hand corruption in the council which is off the scale.
£1m in 2025 money is not the same as £1m in 2022 money.
Plus the potential ~~fraud~~ obtaining monies through deception.
Another benefit of the broad shoulders of the union. A department of trade that does fuck all.
14 comments
>The owners of McVitie’s are the mystery organisation behind a controversial donation to Glasgow City Council, The Herald understands.
>Last week, at a private meeting, councillors were told Pladis want to hand over £1 million to the local authority.
>It is understood the money will be spent in the East End of the city, where the firm closed its factory in 2022, with the loss of around 470 jobs.
>The shock closure of the Tollcross plant after nearly 100 years of production, was despite the efforts of an action group, led by union chiefs, business people, and politicians, including Kate Forbes and council leader Susan Aitken.
>Unions estimated that shutting the business and the knock-on impact on suppliers cost the Scottish economy around £50m.
>It is understood councillors accepted the donation last week at a private session of the City Administration Committee.
>Unusually — as reported by our sister paper, the Glasgow Times — the senior council officials in the Chief Executive’s Department who were involved in talks were required to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
>No members of the public or press were allowed to hear the committee’s discussion.
>The demand for privacy came from Pladis, who made clear that they did not want to talk publicly about the donation or even have it acknowledged.
>Officers will prepare a further report to the committee to discuss how the money will be spent in Tollcros, and whether it will be through grants to organisations or groups in that part of the city or some other means.
>Pladis acquired McVitie’s in 2014 after taking over United Biscuits and is now reportedly the third-biggest biscuit maker in the world.
>They reported record sales growth in 2023, thanks to a hike in the cost of biscuits, in response to unprecedented high inflation.
>Murat Ulker, chairman of Pladis and the richest man in Turkey, is believed to be worth around £4.3 billion.
>Louise Gilmour, GMB Scotland secretary, questioned whether or not the firm would expected anything in return for their money.
>“Doing secret deals for anonymous donations from multinational companies seems an odd way for a local authority to go about its business,” she said.
>“It seems even odder when the company has recently shut down a historic factory and laid off hundreds of workers while ignoring widespread opposition.
>“Are we expected to be charitable and simply accept there is no quid pro quo, that this company wants nothing in return for its money, while the whole thing is wrapped up in secrecy?
>“The workers who lost their jobs when Pladis peremptorily shut down McVitie’s will not be so charitable and deserve to know why this money was not spent investing in their plant and saving their jobs.
>“This agreement, whatever it is, cannot be hidden away like a guilty secret. The workers of McVitie’s and the people of Glasgow deserve to know exactly what is going on.”
>Labour MSP Paul Sweeney said the money was “certainly better than nothing” but did little to “make amends for the industrial vandalism committed by McVitie’s when they closed their Victoria Biscuit Works in Tollcross in 2022.”
>He added: “The economic damage inflicted on the east end of the city when 470 skilled workers were made redundant from the plant, which was first opened a century ago by Glasgow baker Macfarlane Lang & Co, is far in excess of this tokenistic million pounds offered up to Glasgow City Council.
>
>“When workers left the site for the final time in 2022, they left behind state-of-the-art machinery that was dismantled and shipped off to McVitie’s factories in England.
>”This was machinery paid for by over £1m of Scottish Enterprise grants, so this donation is merely indirectly returning public money. The company also stands to profit from the eventual redevelopment of the former factory site.
>“With my colleagues in GMB Scotland and Unite, I campaigned to oppose the closure of the Tollcross biscuit works and worked to find alternatives, I know this donation will be cold comfort to former employees of McVitie’s and the people of the east end of Glasgow.”
>A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said: “Members agreed to accept the donation at committee last week and a further report will come forward in due course. We can’t comment further at this stage.”
>Pladis has been approached for comment.
>It is not the first controversial donation to Glasgow City Council from a biscuit company.
>Scotland’s largest local authority previously accepted a second hand £235,000 Rolls-Royce from Sir Boyd Tunnock.
>The caramel wafer and teacake tycoon gifted the local authority the luxury car in 2018.
>However, it was only used for around a year, before being sold at auction in 2022 for around £105,000, with the money used to support a number of projects and charitable funds.
Quite a strange story this, and as the article notes it’s not the first time Glasgow’s benefited from big biscuit.
>Last week, at a private meeting, councillors were told Pladis want to hand over £1 million to the local authority.
>It is understood the money will be spent in the East End of the city, where the firm closed its factory in 2022, with the loss of around 470 jobs.
Reparations of sorts? If it is, it’s very little for the effect the closure had.
Edit- Nevermind:
>“When workers left the site for the final time in 2022, they left behind state-of-the-art machinery that was dismantled and shipped off to McVitie’s factories in England.
>”This was machinery paid for by over £1m of Scottish Enterprise grants, so this donation is merely indirectly returning public money. The company also stands to profit from the eventual redevelopment of the former factory site.
I don’t think the journalist /the Herald know what a secret is
Take the donation and then still go after them for the £1million from Scottish Enterprise.
Fuck them.
So the machinery that was dismantled from the Glasgow site and sent to McVitie’s factories in England (seems to be a trend in recent years: relocation of Scottish jobs to England) had been paid for by over £1m of Scottish Enterprise grants…should the money not go back to the Scottish Government then rather than Glasgow City Council? Or is the money meant to keep the council onside for the future redevelopment of the site (from which Pladis stands to benefit)?
That’s mare like it!!!
I’d wondered where philanthropy had gone!!!
We need more of this!!…much, much, more!!!
This really does take the biscuit.
“Secret”
Call me stupid but there’s a difference between a confidential meeting which is minuted and can be subject to a Freedom of Information request and a secret.
Trust me it will be lining pockets. I know of first hand corruption in the council which is off the scale.
£1m in 2025 money is not the same as £1m in 2022 money.
Plus the potential ~~fraud~~ obtaining monies through deception.
Another benefit of the broad shoulders of the union. A department of trade that does fuck all.
Crumbs!
Grubby is the nicest word I can find for this.
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