Danone and Harrogate Water today announced that they have entered into a share purchase agreement under which Danone will acquire a majority stake in Harrogate Water.

Harrogate Water is a family-owned business with a unique British heritage and core strengths in foodservice and on-the-go consumption. The current shareholders of Harrogate Water, the Cain family, will remain as minority shareholders and continue to contribute to the growth of the company.

Harrogate Water is the owner of the award-winning, British water brand “Harrogate Spring Water”, one of the UK’s leading bottled water brands, and the charitable brand “Thirsty Planet”.

Harrogate Spring Water is the original British water brand, with a spa history dating back to 1571, and being first bottled in 1740. Today, Harrogate Spring Water is one of Britain’s fastest growing water brands* and leader in the Out of Home category**.

Danone

Danone is one of the world’s leading natural source water companies globally and home to iconic brands, including evian and Volvic. The acquisition will further develop Danone Waters’ position in the UK and support future growth for Harrogate Water’s portfolio.

It will provide new opportunities for both businesses to deliver growth across complementary channels, combining the respective know-how of Harrogate Water in foodservice and Out of Home channels and Danone Water in retail channels with its evian and Volvic brands.

This move also reflects the shared ambition of the two companies to encourage healthier and more sustainable drinking choices. Harrogate Water has a focus on sustainable business practice, including 100% recyclable packaging, bottles made from majority recycled content, both PET (rPET) and glass, as well as an exclusive partnership with Keep Britain Tidy.

This will contribute towards accelerating Danone’s initiatives and commitments to bring the health benefits of mineral and spring water to more people, in a way that also helps to protect the planet’s resources, in line with Danone’s ‘One Planet. One Health’ vision, including the waters business’ commitment to be carbon neutral in Europe by 2030 and to be using 100% rPET in Europe by 2025.

James Pearson, Managing Director, Danone Waters UK & Ireland, said:

“I am thrilled to welcome Harrogate Water to the Danone family. This move will expand our offering in the UK and help to meet growing demand in sparkling water and on-the-go consumption.

“Danone’s heritage and strength lies in doing business in a responsible way: one that recognises the importance of sustainable growth alongside a commitment to protect our planet, promote health and value the people within our company and those we partner with.

“We’ve been impressed with Harrogate Water’s commitment to these same values, including a shared ambition to become BCorp certified and to protecting our unique water sources, and we are excited to support the next step of their journey, inspiring more people towards healthier hydration.”

James Cain OBE, Harrogate Water CEO, said:

“We are delighted to have found the right partner to take Harrogate Water forward on its journey, while respecting and celebrating our history and heritage.

“Danone and Harrogate Water have a shared ethos and approach to community and sustainability. As a family-business, we are all about our people; our colleagues, partners and customers. Together with the team at Danone we are confident we will continue this success, with a considered, like-minded approach.

“This is a great investment for the town of Harrogate and the Yorkshire region. We are incredibly proud to become part of the Danone family, and are excited about the benefits this will bring to Harrogate as we continue to produce one of the world’s finest natural source waters from the original British spa town, for everyone to enjoy.”

James Cain will join the management team of Danone Waters UK and continue to lead the Harrogate Water business.

The completion of the transaction is subject to regulatory approval.

For further information please contact:

Danone Press Office in the UK: 020 8799 1125
Harrogate Water (Finn Communications): 0113 887 3873

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The 36, by The Harrogate Bus Company, runs between Leeds and Harrogate every ten minutes, providing a great way to see what will be the biggest outdoor sporting event of the year.

Banners promoting the route are now appearing on the sides of buses, sponsored by Harrogate Water, the official bottled water supplier to the UCI Road World Championships.

Harrogate Water sales and marketing director Rob Pickering said: “The 36 is one of the flagship services in Yorkshire and the North and provides an ideal way for spectators to visit Harrogate from Leeds and be part of this once-in-a-lifetime sporting spectacle.”

The Harrogate Bus Company’s CEO Alex Hornby said: “The 36 will be a lifeline for thousands of spectators during eight days of championship cycling and we are grateful to Harrogate Water for sponsoring this campaign, which will promote the service and help reduce congestion in the town.

“We’re offering a nine-day unlimited travel ticket, exclusively on our Transdev Go app, covering the whole of the UCI Road World Championships on all our buses across the North.”

The Bike Race 9 ticket is available to buy now ahead of the event, for £50 – that’s less than £5.60 a day – on the free-to-download Transdev Go mobile app. A full range of other tickets, including day tickets, for The Harrogate Bus Company buses are also available.

The deal with Harrogate Water follows generous sponsorship from the company for Harrogate’s ‘Sunday Freeway’ Electric bus services and the 24 winter Sunday service between Harrogate and Pateley Bridge.

PHOTO: Rob Pickering, right, and Alex Hornby

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The Harrogate Bus Company’s innovative “Sunday Freeway” promotion has already seen an impressive 70 per cent rise in customer numbers travelling on four bus routes to shop, dine and enjoy the town centre, delivering a welcome boost to local businesses.

Now its Harrogate Electrics bus services 2A, 2B, 3 and 6, which link Bilton, Dene Park, The Knox, Jennyfield and Pannal Ash with the town centre, will continue to be free to use every Sunday, thanks to generous support from Harrogate Water.

The partnership between the bus company and Harrogate Water  builds on the successful collaboration that has kept much-needed winter Sunday buses on route 24 between Harrogate and Pateley Bridge running since 2017.

The additional funding from Harrogate Water ensures the Nidderdale Sunday buses will also continue to stay on the road this winter.

The two firms are also working on further joint initiatives ahead of the UCI 2019 Road World Cycling Championships which arrives in Harrogate next month.

Harrogate Water chief executive James Cain OBE said: “The success of Harrogate’s free electric buses on Sundays is clear for everyone to see, both in reducing congestion and pollution on our streets and in generating increased footfall in our town centre.

“Caring for the environment and our community is at the heart of all we do, and so we’re very pleased to help keep Harrogate’s popular and highly valued electric buses free for everyone on Sundays, as well as to continue our support for winter Sunday buses through Nidderdale, which provide a vital community transport link for residents and visitors to this beautiful part of Yorkshire.

“Harrogate will be very much in the spotlight when the UCI 2019 Road World Championships arrive next month. We’re looking forward to working with The Harrogate Bus Company to show our unique and beautiful town at its very best.”

The Harrogate Bus Company’s CEO Alex Hornby said: “I’m delighted that we will be able to continue with our ‘Sunday Freeway’ free journeys on our amazing Harrogate Electrics buses, thanks to this exciting new package of initiatives and generous sponsorship from our friends at Harrogate Water.

“The continued support for winter Sunday buses on our service 24 between Harrogate and Pateley Bridge is also excellent news for rural communities. Our buses bring many visitors into the area, as well as providing an essential transport link for residents in Nidderdale, while helping to reduce congestion and to protect the environment.

“Our free Harrogate Electrics buses every Sunday deliver a significant boost to other locally owned businesses in the town centre. Now that our ‘Sunday Freeway’ services are to continue, there’s surely no better time to leave the car at home, hop on a free bus, relax and enjoy Sundays with all the wonderful things that our town has to offer.”

Today’s news means that free Sunday travel for all customers on routes 2A, 2B, 3 and 6 will continue for at least another two months, until the end of September and the 24 winter service between Pateley Bridge and Harrogate will again continue to run on Sundays.

Photo: Harrogate Water CEO James Cain OBE, left,and brand manager Nicky Cain with The Harrogate Bus Company’s Marketing Manager Ben Mansfield

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Over 20,000 schools will be taking part in the project through the environmental charity’s Eco Schools programme. It is being supported by recycling partner Harrogate Water along with Plastipak, one of the global leaders in sustainable packaging and recycling.

Eco-Schools is a global programme engaging 19.5 million children across 67 countries, making it the largest educational programme in the world.

The Eco-Schools Programme is pupil-led, involving hands-on learning that gets the whole school and the wider community involved in exciting environmental projects.

Schools are provided with free resources to help them progress to the international Eco-Schools Green Flag award within 12 months of registration and Keep Britain Tidy provides additional assistance from a dedicated team of former teachers.

Richard McIlwain of Keep Britain Tidy said: “We are currently working with Harrogate Water and Plastipak on the new Waste and Recycling module. In 2019 ‘The Challenge’ will be a call to action for all participating schools to take part in a national survey assessing recycling in schools, finding out what waste management resources they have available as well as understanding local authority collections and recycling services.

“This National survey will be the first if its kind and will allow the schools to help advise on what they believe we should be doing to improve provision and help harmonise recycling services in schools across the country. The report will be published in an easy-to-use infographic format and made available to all relevant parties.

“This work by students will provide the springboard for the ‘Circular School 2020 Challenge’ when we’ll be encouraging schools to take an active role in coming up with sustainable waste management solutions.”

Kinza Sutton, Plastipak’s Head of Public Affairs and Sustainability Europe, said: “Plastipak and Harrogate Water are champions of the circular economy and we believe children can play a big part in shaping a sustainable future and challenging the misinformation and confusion around waste management and recycling.”

Harrogate Water Brand Manager Nicky Cain said: “The Eco-Schools project will promote discussion around waste, recycling and the circular economy in the classroom. We know that children are passionate about the environment and want to lead the way in making positive changes.

“This programme gives them the opportunity, not only to uncover the facts about packaging and recycling but to influence the way forward towards a more sustainable future.”

As part of the project, Harrogate Water and Plastipak will adding their expertise in recycling and recyclable packaging and producing a video showing the lifecycle of a bottle of Harrogate Spring. All content for the module will be approved by the Assessments and Qualifications Alliance (AQA) and feed into academic subjects, as well as linking into Global Citizenship as part of the National Curriculum.

All PET bottles of Harrogate Spring are 100 per cent recyclable and contain at least 50 per cent recycled content, processed and supplied by Plastipak. The recycled content is sourced solely from the UK to inform consumers that their bottle may return as a new bottle when it is recycled.

Harrogate Spring and Keep Britain Tidy are behind the Incredible Shrinking Bottle recycling initiative, urging consumers to recycle their PET bottles, with the message ‘Twist It. Cap It. Recycle It.’

Twisting the PET bottle to make it easy to shrink to a small size was the idea of Emily Eggleston, a pupil of Harrogate Grammar School. “We were playing with the bottle thinking of how best to crush it and found that twisting made it much easier and you can recycle more if you squash it,” she said.

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PHOTO: Eco students at Harrogate Grammar School, standing, Isabella Cornell-Codling and Josie Robinson, seated, Emily Eggleston, Anjali Arthur and Charlotte Carlyon

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Harrogate Spring is the official supplier of bottled water to the 2019 UCI Road World Championships and the Harrogate Spring bottling facility is on the route of the Harrogate Circuit, which will be used for all races over eight days of racing.

Lizzie, who is originally from Otley but now divides her time between Harrogate and Monaco, said: “I am so excited that the UCI Road World Championships are being held in Yorkshire. What a great opportunity to show the world how much we love our cycling and what Yorkshire has to offer.

“It’s great to see the Harrogate Spring design incorporating the iconic UCI rainbow stripes – blue, red, black, yellow and green – symbolising the rainbow of continents taking part and the millions of spectators tuning in around the globe.”

Lizzie has risen to become one of the world’s greatest elite cyclists since her potential was discovered by British Cycling when she was still at school in Otley. She has gone on to World and Olympic glory, crowned 2015 UCI Women’s Road World Champion, winning successive UCI Women’s Road Race Cups in 2014 and 2015 and a road silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics. Her most recent success was winning the UK’s Ovo Energy Women’s Tour, part of the UCI Women’s World Tour, in June this year.

Harrogate is the principal host town for the UCI Road World Championships, providing the finishing line for 11 different races. The multipack provides consumers with the chance to win a VIP trip to watch the event on the finish line, in addition to official merchandise giveaways.

Harrogate Spring Brand Manager Nicky Cain said: “The striking new 12 x 500ml multipack has standout appeal and will be available across retail to celebrate the global event, one of the greatest cycling milestones, watched by 250 million people in 150 countries.”

It will be the first time Great Britain has hosted the Championships since 1982 and cements Yorkshire’s global reputation as a cycling destination.

Races will start from six towns and cities across Yorkshire and race organisers anticipate record-breaking numbers of spectators, with millions of people expected to line the routes from Bradford, Doncaster, Leeds, Northallerton, Richmond and Ripon.

Nicky Cain added: “As well as loving cycling, we’re also passionate about recycling. All Harrogate Water products are 100 per cent recyclable and our PET and glass bottles are made using at least 50 per cent recycled content. We look forward to working with the organisers to make sustainability a core element of this great cycling event.”

The multipack design was created for Harrogate Spring by food brand design specialists CHILLI and incorporates cycling imagery alongside the colours of the famous and distinctive UCI rainbow.

Lizzie Deignan will feature in a series of videos as part of digital and social media marketing campaign. To view video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdFR7WvMVkI

To enter the competition https://www.harrogatespring.com/uci/

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The Betfred British Masters golf tournament is teaming up with Harrogate Spring Water to become a champion of recycling and a showcase for sustainability.

Since the revival of the British Masters on the European Tour five years ago, organisers have worked harder and harder to reduce plastic waste and the 2018 event was the most sustainable ever, with all PET bottles being collected for recycling.

This year’s event is hosted by Ryder Cup star Tommy Fleetwood at Hillside Golf, in Southport, from May 9-12, when there will once again be a strong focus on sustainability.

Rory Colville, Championship Director of the Betfred British Masters, said: “We are proud that our waste and recycling initiative has become a showcase for other events to follow.

“We have worked with Harrogate Water since 2015 and they are one of our longest standing partners. All their bottles, glass and PET, are 100 per cent recyclable and contain at least 50 per cent recycled material. All the recycled PET is UK sourced material. That’s great but it is only the start.

“The challenge is firstly having the facilities in place at such a big event as the Betfred British Masters and secondly, educating everyone, including competitors and spectators to use the onsite recycling facilities.

Around 100 dedicated bins will be installed to capture used PET bottles, which will be taken for recycling to Cleantech in Lincolnshire, a UK re-processor owned by Plastipak, which produces the food-grade recycled PET (rPET) used by Harrogate Water.

Nicky Cain of Harrogate Water said: “We have been a British Masters partner since its revival on the European Tour and have worked closely with the organisers to develop a sustainable waste strategy, while at the same time ensuring the elite golfers are properly hydrated.”

“Recycling is the here-and-now solution to avoiding waste and creating a sustainable circular economy. PET bottles are easily recyclable and should never go to landfill or incineration.

“Our switch to using more than 50 per cent recycled content in our PET bottles means a reduction of 1,250 tonnes of greenhouse emissions per year. This is why recycling is so important for the environment. We need to recycle more in order to move towards 100 per cent recycled content.

“We are proud to be involved in making the 2019 Betfred British Masters one of the most sustainable events in the sporting calendar and we will be back for the 2020 event too.”

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The IBF World Featherweight great works hard, trains hard and drinks a lot of natural source water during his torturous fitness regime.

“I easily get through four or five one and a half litre bottles of Harrogate Spring water a day. It’s good for your skin, good for your thinking, satisfies hunger cravings and helps your body fight infection,” said the ‘Leeds Warrior’.

“I never feel right if I’m not properly hydrated, which is key in my sport when you are training hard and experiencing physical trauma, taking blows to the body and head.”

Erin Boswell of Harrogate Spring said: “It is fantastic to hear Josh speak about the importance of healthy hydration in sport and just how vital it is to achieve peak performance in the ring. We’re proud to be keeping Josh hydrated as a true Yorkshire legend and World Champion, putting Yorkshire on the map in his sport as an elite athlete”.

Josh, 28, is the first world boxing champion to hail from Leeds and won the IBF belt in front of 20,000 spectators at his beloved Elland Road in May 2018, beating favourite Lee Selby on points. He was again the underdog going into his first defence against Carl Frampton at Manchester but came close to stopping the Irishman before winning a unanimous points decision.

He is unbeaten in 28 bouts and next fights Sheffield’s Kid Galahad. Victory may open the way for a unification fight with WBA champion Leo Santa Cruz, who was beaten by Carl Frampton in 2016. The Mexican is currently rated the best featherweight in the world, but Josh will certainly have something to say about that.

 Josh visited the Harrogate Water bottling plant for a tour of the facility and to learn all about Harrogate’s naturally sourced water and how they are leading the way in sustainability.

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Harrogate is the principal host town for the Championships, providing the finishing line for 11 different races being held over eight days.

The event is among the greatest cycling milestones of the year, along with the Tour de France, which Yorkshire partnered as Grand Depart venue in 2014.
The UCI Road World Championships will be watched by some 250 million people in 150 countries around the globe, with the BBC broadcasting in the United Kingdom.

There will be a range of men’s and women’s Elite, U23 and Junior races, as well as a mixed team relay, with all riders passing Harrogate Spring Water’s bottling facility as they head towards the finish in the centre of the beautiful spa town.

It will be the first time Great Britain has hosted the Championships since 1982 and further enhances Yorkshire’s growing global reputation for cycling following the highly successful and internationally renowned Tour de Yorkshire, held annually since 2015.

Races will start from five towns and cities across Yorkshire and race organisers anticipate record-breaking numbers of spectators with around four million people expected to line the routes from Bradford, Doncaster, Leeds, Northallerton, Richmond and Ripon.

Harrogate Spring Water brand manager Nicky Cain said: “We love cycling as much as we love healthy hydration and recycling. We are thrilled to be named a 2019 UCI Road World Championship’s Official Supplier. Cycling is green, healthy and family-friendly, values that are all part of our brand’s DNA.

“The world will be tuning into Harrogate for eight days, and the greatest cyclists from around the globe will be kept hydrated and in peak condition by the original British bottled water.

“Yorkshire 2019 and the UCI aim to make these Championships sustainable for the environment, which is aligned with our own commitment to lead the way in driving environmental sustainability through our recycling campaigning with Keep Britain Tidy and use of recycled content in our bottles. We look forward to working with the organisers to make recycling a core element of the event.

“The fact that Yorkshire has been selected to host the Championships demonstrates the impact the county has had on the cycling world since the success of the Grand Depart and the Tour de Yorkshire. This is the next big step and a big opportunity for all things Yorkshire and all things Harrogate.”

The President of the UCI David Lappartient declared: “The Union Cycliste Internationale is very pleased that Harrogate Spring Water is joining the UCI Road World Championships in Yorkshire as Official Supplier of the event.
“With Harrogate Spring Water, our event benefits from a partner that has an established reputation and is anchored in the region.

“Harrogate Spring Water’s commitment to the environment is something that is shared by Yorkshire 2019 and the UCI.”

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Saracens are staying hydrated in defence of their Premiership title with Harrogate Spring Water – whose PET bottles are made using more than 50 per cent recycled content.

The partnership will include humorous social media video activity featuring players playing a game of flipping bottles but with a serious message about recycling.

Harrogate Water marketing manager Erin Boswell said: “We are thrilled to become ‘Preferred Water Supplier’ to Saracens, one of rugby world’s greatest clubs. Healthy hydration in elite sport is essential for peak performance, something for which Saracens are renowned in the Premiership and European Champions Cup.

“Having professional rugby stars joining our online recycling campaign is a real boost for our latest recycling initiative. We are also proud to be using more than 50 per cent recycled content, the highest use of UK post-consumer recycled PET of any water producer.

“We are an active partner of Keep Britain Tidy and together we are behind the Incredible Shrinking Bottle recycling campaign, urging consumers to ‘twist it, cap it, recycle it’. The more we can spread the recycling message, the more recycled material will become available, enabling us to increase recycled content even further. It’s all about creating a real circular economy.”

Saracens partnerships manager Emily Marshall said: “Healthy hydration is an integral part of the health and fitness regime at Saracens and as a club, we are striving to be better at recycling. We are delighted to support Harrogate Water, a great British company with international appeal that is leading the way in recyclability and sustainability.”

The Saracens ‘Bottle flip challenge’ 

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The announcement, in the run up to Royal Ascot, Britain’s most valuable race meeting, extends the successful three-year sponsorship deal signed in 2015.

The sponsorship arrangement will include a Harrogate Water sponsored race as well as branding on site, print advertising in race cards, brochures and the Royal
Ascot Magazine, and joint digital marketing. Still and sparkling Harrogate Water will be available across all bars, restaurants and fine dining sites in PET and glass on all race days, including Royal Ascot.

Harrogate will offer racegoers free bottles of spring water on exit during Royal Ascot and Saturday flat race days, as part of “Pace Yourself”, the racing industry’s drink awareness campaign. Teams of litter pickers will collect any discarded bottles in and around the racecourse.

Harrogate Water and Ascot are also working together on a sustainability project to improve recycling across the site. The project builds on the Incredible Shrinking Bottle ‘Twist it. Cap it. Recycle it.’ campaign launched by Harrogate Water and Keep Britain Tidy. It will include greater staff awareness and improved recycling systems to be rolled out across the estate. All Harrogate Water packaging is 100 per cent recyclable and its PET plastic bottles contain 51 per cent UK post-consumer recycled plastic (rPET), the most of any UK bottled water producer.

Harrogate Water brand manager Nicky Cain said: “The five-year extension speaks volumes about the success of the partnership and the benefits of being associated with one of the world’s finest and most famous social and sporting venues.

“Ascot race days are internationally celebrated events, quintessentially British and synonymous with elegance and style; the sponsorship is a perfect fit for both brands. It reinforces our position as the UK’s number one premium bottled water brand.

“In three years, Harrogate Water has doubled in size and we have seen a phenomenal growth in both home and export markets.”

Juliet Slot, chief commercial officer at Ascot Racecourse, said: “Harrogate Spring Water is a brand with refined heritage and spa origins dating back to 1571, which complements Ascot’s 300-year heritage.”

Harrogate Water also sponsors England and GB Hockey which includes the Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup in London in July.

Harrogate water was discovered in 1571 by Queen Elizabeth’s physician and it was first bottled in 1740, making it the original bottled water.

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