Dee Corporation
of Bristol
1983 Formerly Linfood Holdings but re-named as the Dee Corporation
Alec Monk, chief executive of the Dee Corporation, having escaped a takeover bid from Argyll Foods in 1981, decided to create his own supermarket empire.
1984 Three of the biggest acquisitions were of Key Markets Supermarkets from Fitch Lovell, International Stores
1985 Acquired Fine Fare
The company also purchased the UK arm of the French retailer, Carrefour when the French retailer exited Britain in the late 1980s. By this time, the Dee Corporation had over 1,100 stores and nearly 12% of the market, not far behind Sainsbury's and Tesco. Most of the Dee Corporation's outlets were small, high-street stores.
1987 The Dee Corporation ran into problems, mainly because of the difficulty of integrating so many disparate businesses. Some disposals were made in that year, including the Linfood wholesaling operation.
In 1988, the Dee Corporation changed its name to the Gateway Corporation