Cadbury heiress reveals plans to set up rival chocolate company against Kraft

Jun 21 2010 by Alison Dayani, Birmingham Mail

CADBURY heiress Felicity Loudon plans to sell her £27million estate – to launch a rival chocolate company in protest at its sale to Kraft.

Ms Loudon, whose great-great-grandfather John Cadbury founded the business in Bournville in 1824, said: “I can’t accept that Cadbury has gone to a plastic cheese company.”

Now the 61-year-old has put her Grade II listed Oxfordshire mansion, Pusey House, on the market in order to pursue the family tradition of chocolate-making.

Whoever meets the enormous asking price will bag themselves an idyllic home complete with eight bedroom suites, six guest rooms, an indoor pool, stables and five walled gardens.

It comes five months after Cadbury shareholders backed the £11.9 billion deal with the American food giant, which produces Dairylea. “It’s been the worst-handled takeover of all time,” said interior designer Ms Loudon.

“My great-grandfather George would be spinning in his grave.

“I’ve got so many things I want to do and one of them is to make chocolate. I’ve been talking to wonderful chocolate gurus.”

But she will be unable to use the Cadbury name as it is now protected by trademark law for Kraft to use. Ms Loudon admitted she regretted not taking up an invitation from former Business Secretary Lord Mandelson to discuss a strategy to fend off the Kraft bid before the deal was sealed.

She lives in the manor house, which has 100 acres and dates from 1746, with her second husband, John, aged 74.

Ms Loudon said she had told her husband she did not want to “retire and lounge around the indoor pool”.

“I want to make chocolate and I’m jolly well going to do it,” she added.

Justin Marking, of estate agency Savills, called Pusey House “one of the top ten houses to have come on to the market in the past ten years”.