Fortnum & Mason is owned by Wittington Investments Limited, a private holding company controlled by the Weston family and the Garfield Weston Foundation, with Wittington Investments also owning significant stakes in other businesses like Associated British Foods (ABF), which owns Primark. The foundation, established by W. Garfield Weston, holds the majority share, ensuring Fortnum & Mason remains within the family's portfolio of luxury retail and property interests.
The company is 79.2% owned by the Garfield Weston Foundation, one of the United Kingdom's largest grant-making trusts, which was established in 1958 by Canadian businessman W. Garfield Weston (1898–1978), and 20.8% owned by members of the prominent Weston family.
When Garfield Weston established the Foundation, he endowed it with shares in the family business, Wittington Investments. Today Wittington Investments has a wide range of interests in hotels, property and retail. It owns the Richmond Hill Hotel, and the iconic store Fortnum & Mason in London.
Fortnum & Mason has apologised for a “failure of communication” to Paralympians who were not invited to a party which Olympians attended, after the Paris medallists met the king at Buckingham Palace.
Yes, you can wear jeans to Fortnum & Mason for shopping and even for afternoon tea at the Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon, as they don't enforce a strict dress code and prioritize guest comfort, allowing items like smart jeans, shirts, and even trainers, though ripped jeans, sportswear, or flip-flops are generally discouraged.
Selfridges Group, along with KaDeWe Group, is owned by Thailand's Central Group, which acquired them in 2021 jointly with Austria-based Signa Holding, which lost joint control in late 2023.
National organized Freemasonry began in 1717 with the founding of the Grand Lodge—an association of Masonic lodges—in England. However, Freemason societies have existed for much longer. The most popular theory is that Freemasonry emerged out of the stonemasonry guilds of the Middle Ages.
Although Harrods has the name recognition, I find visiting Fortnum & Mason to be a truly fascinating experience. It's London's oldest department store, founded in 1707 by William Fortnum & Hugh Mason. Originally founded as a grocery store, today the shop sells housewares, furnishings, stationery, and more.
Through George Weston Limited and various holding companies, the Canadian branch of the Weston family currently owns or controls over 200 companies, including the Loblaws supermarket chain and the Shoppers Drug Mart pharmacy chain.
As a successful businessman, Sir Richard Whittington supplied fine fabrics to the Court and loans to Kings. But Dick Whittington was also an Alderman, Sheriff, MP, Mayor of Calais, three times Master of the Mercers' Company and four times Lord Mayor.
Average Fortnum & Mason hourly pay ranges from approximately £12.84 per hour for Sales Associate to £14.80 per hour for Chef. Salary estimated from 166 past and present job postings on Indeed. Please note that all salary figures are approximations based upon third party submissions to Indeed.
Tom Athron has spent the last 20 years working for retail businesses like John Lewis and MATCHESFASHION. Three years ago, he was appointed CEO of Fortnum & Mason and in June 2025, he accepted the role of chair at Walpole – the official sector body for UK luxury.
Anna Catrina "Kate" Hobhouse (née Weston; born July 1962) is a British heiress, businesswoman and philanthropist who is a member of the Weston family. She is the chairman of Fortnum & Mason, an upscale department store located on Piccadilly in London.
Anglo-American style Freemasonry, which insists that a "volume of sacred law" (such as the Bible, Quran or other religious text) should be open in a working lodge, that every member should profess belief in a supreme being, that only men should be admitted, and discussion of religion or politics does not take place ...
Freemasonry teaches that salvation may be attained by “good works” and not through faith in Christ alone. Freemasonry advocates in many of its writings the non-biblical teachings of universalism.
The Weston family is the majority shareholder in ABF, with a roughly 59 per cent stake through its investment vehicle, Wittington Investments, as of mid-September, according to Factset. The Garfield Weston Foundation, the Weston's grant-giving charity, owns 79.2 per cent of Wittington's shares.
During the years of the Great Depression, Selfridge's fortune rapidly declined and then disappeared—a situation not helped by his free-spending ways. He gambled frequently and often lost. He also spent money on various showgirls.
