WCF Ltd is a private company originally started as a farmers co-operative in 1911 and was incorporated in 1988. Many families of the original co-operative members remain shareholders today alongside the company's 250 employees, who have a considerable stake in the company. Overall the company has around 4,000 individual shareholders. WCF's strategy is to provide shareholders with steady and sustainable growth in dividends, by growing the earnings of each individual business through a combination of organic growth, capital investment and acquisition. The company operates in two distinct sectors - specialist distribution and niche retailing.