Westons keep Fortnum in the family

FORTNUM & Mason, the famous food store that supplies the Queen's Christmas puddings, is to disappear from the stock market with barely a whisper of complaint from its shareholders.

After 62 years as a public company, Fortnum is being taken private by the super-rich Weston family. The proposal was waved through on Monday after just six individual shareholders turned up to vote.

The Westons, whose fortune is estimated at more than £2bn, already owned 89.9% of the group. Former Fortnum chairman Garry Weston, 74, built up Associated British Foods - one of Britain's largest bakers and owner of Ryvita crispbread and Twinings tea.

'I feel for the private shareholders. It is disappointing for the ones who wanted to keep a stake,' said Fortnum chairman Jana Khayat,40, the eldest daughter of Garry Weston. She took the helm last May when he retired due to ill health.

Immaculately dressed in a pinstriped trouser suit, Khayat looked close to tears when talking about the firm where she has worked since university. 'This is very painful for us. I wish my father could be here today because this company is very much his baby.'

She blamed Stock Exchange watchdogs for forcing the company to go private. 'The UK listing authority warned us that we might lose our listing unless we changed the shareholding.' Rather than dilute the family holding, the Westons opted to bid 600p for the rest of the group, valuing Fortnum at £57.4m.

Khayat, who also owns a clothes shop in Ipswich, has no plans to cheapen the Fortnum brand by opening new stores in addition to the legendary Piccadilly premises. But she will 'look at ways to improve the range and the mail order business'. The shares, 355p before the bid, closed at 585p.