Geest

Geest is a type of landform, slightly raised above the surrounding countryside, that occurs on the plains of Northern Germany, the Northern Netherlands and Denmark. It is a landscape of sandy and gravelly soils, usually mantled by a heathland vegetation, comprising glacial deposits left behind after the last ice age during the Pleistocene epoch.

Geest lands are made up of moraines and sandurs. They are almost always next to flat marshlands, the geest being higher and better protected against flood but, compared to the marsh, with poor soil for agriculture. Where the geest borders the sea directly, sand cliffs exist.

The oldest settlements in Northern Germany and Denmark lie on geest, since it provided better protection against storm floods. Many important towns are on the boundary between geest and marshland where people could enjoy the flood-protection of the geest but still use the much more fertile soil in the marsh.

Examples of regions characterised by geest are:

Bakkavör

Bakkavor Group Limited is a UK domiciled company is the ultimate parent company of Bakkavor Finance (2) plc ('Bakkavor') an international food manufacturing company specialising in fresh prepared foods. The Group operates 32 manufacturing facilities in the UK, and 18 sites in 5 other countries. It employs over 18,000 people with a turnover in 2014 of £1.69 billion. The Group’s head office is in London. It is listed 27th on the 2015 Sunday Times Top Track 100. The Top Track 100 league table ranks Britain's 100 private companies with the biggest sales.

History

Bakkavor was founded in 1986 by the two brothers Ágúst and Lýdur Gudmundsson, to manufacture and export cod roe to Scandinavia. By 1996 Bakkavör had become a medium-sized company selling processed fish products direct to European retailers. Over the next decade the company focused on expanding its operations internationally into fresh prepared foods markets, and by 2008 had acquired a number of businesses in the UK, Europe, Far East and US. Its largest acquisition was Geest plc in 2005. The company delisted from the NASDAQ OMX Iceland in 2009. In 2012 the corporate structure of the Group was simplified with a new parent company domiciled in the UK. Bakkavor sold its French, Spanish and Czech businesses in 2014. This was followed by the sale of its South African operation and a 40% stake in its Italian business later in the year. The Group acquired US prepared foods manufacturer B. Robert’s Foods in January 2015.

Geest (disambiguation)

Geest is a type of sandy heathland common in northern Europe, especially in North Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands.

It may also refer to:

See also