PG Tips is owned by LIPTON Teas and Infusions, the Amsterdam-based tea company controlled by the private equity firm CVC Capital Partners since July 2022. Before that, it belonged to Unilever for 38 years, after Unilever bought its creator, Brooke Bond, in 1984. PG Tips is still blended and packed at Trafford Park in Greater Manchester, close to where Brooke Bond opened its first shop in 1869.
Who owns PG Tips now?
| Period | Owner of PG Tips |
|---|---|
| 1930 to 1968 | Brooke Bond & Company |
| 1968 to 1984 | Brooke Bond Liebig, after a merger |
| 1984 to 2022 | Unilever |
| 2022 to today | LIPTON Teas and Infusions (CVC Capital Partners), called ekaterra until 2023 |
In 2022, Unilever completed the sale of almost all its tea brands to CVC Capital Partners for €4.5 billion. PG Tips went with Lipton, Pukka, T2 and TAZO into a company first called ekaterra, which renamed itself LIPTON Teas and Infusions in 2023. So PG Tips and Lipton are sister brands. The company sells PG Tips in the UK and does not sell Lipton Yellow Label in British supermarkets. Our guide to who owns Lipton explains the wider business.
In Scotland the same company sells a blend called Scottish Blend, made for soft Scottish water, and in Ireland it sells Lyons tea. Brooke Bond itself is a separate story in India, Nepal and Indonesia, where Unilever kept the tea business. Brooke Bond Red Label in India is a Unilever brand, not a CVC one.
Is PG Tips owned by Unilever?
Not any more. Unilever owned PG Tips from 1984 until July 2022. Older articles and some packaging still mention Unilever, which causes confusion. For the full picture of who owns what, see our guide to who owns the big tea brands.
Where PG Tips came from
Brooke Bond
The story starts with Arthur Brooke, born in Ashton-under-Lyne in 1845. In 1869 he opened a tea shop at 23 Market Street, Manchester. There was no Mr Bond. Brooke chose the name because it was his bond, or promise, to customers that his tea would be good. The firm grew into a wholesale and packing business and launched Red Label in India in 1903. By 1957 it was probably the largest tea company in the world, with about a third of both the British and Indian tea markets.
Pre-Gest-Tee
Brooke Bond launched PG Tips in 1930 under the name Pre-Gest-Tee. The name implied a digestive aid to be drunk before meals. Grocers and salesmen shortened it to PG. After the Second World War, labelling rules stopped tea being sold as an aid to digestion. By 1950 to 1951 the brand had become PG Tips. The “tips” refer to the top two leaves and bud of the tea plant, the most prized part.
PG Tips milestones
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1930 | Launched as Pre-Gest-Tee by Brooke Bond |
| 1950s | Renamed PG Tips |
| 1956 | First chimpanzee “Tipps family” television advert |
| 1958 | Rises from fourth to first place in the British tea market |
| 1984 | Unilever buys Brooke Bond Liebig |
| 1985 | PG Tags tea bags with strings launched |
| 1996 | Pyramid tea bags launched |
| 2002 | Last chimp advert; Aardman’s T-Birds take over |
| 2007 | Monkey and Johnny Vegas adverts begin |
| 2022 | Sold with Unilever’s tea business to CVC |
| 2023 | Pyramid bags replaced by square quick-brew bags |
The chimpanzee adverts
From 1956, PG Tips used chimpanzees from Twycross Zoo in Leicestershire, dressed as a human family and voiced by actors such as Peter Sellers. Within two years the brand rose from fourth to first place in Britain. The adverts were briefly dropped in the 1970s after complaints from animal rights groups, then brought back when sales fell. They finally ended in 2002 and are now remembered as one of British television’s best-known advertising campaigns. The knitted Monkey, introduced in 2007, kept the primate theme going.
From pyramids to squares
PG Tips introduced pyramid-shaped bags in 1996, claiming they gave the leaves more room to move like loose tea in a pot. In 2023 it switched to square quick-brew bags designed to brew in about 60 seconds and dropped the pyramids. The change followed the sale to CVC, and the brand has since focused on consistency in its marketing.
The £7,500 tea bag
For its 75th anniversary in 2005, PG Tips sold special golden packs and made a one-off diamond tea bag worth £7,500, created by the jeweller Boodles and filled with Makaibari Silver Tips tea from Darjeeling. It was a publicity stunt, but it showed how central the brand had become to British tea culture. In the same year, a Wallace and Gromit mug promotion with Aardman reportedly increased PG Tips sales sixfold during the offer.
How PG Tips is made
PG Tips is a blended black tea. Tea tasters combine between 12 and 35 estate teas, depending on the season, into the house blend, made at the Trafford Park factory in Greater Manchester. The goal is a strong, consistent cup that takes milk well, the style most British drinkers expect. Our guides to milk in tea and brewing temperature and steep time explain how to get the best from a builder’s tea like PG Tips. It also makes a good base for masala chai.
PG Tips and its rivals
- Tetley is PG Tips’ oldest UK rival, owned by India’s Tata since 2000. See who owns Tetley.
- Yorkshire Tea, its biggest UK rival in recent years, is still family owned. See the Yorkshire Tea story.
- Typhoo was bought out of administration by Supreme plc in 2024.
Quick answers
What does PG in PG Tips stand for?
Pre-Gest-Tee, the brand’s original 1930 name, which suggested drinking it before meals to help digestion. The digestion claim was later dropped.
Who makes PG Tips?
LIPTON Teas and Infusions, which blends and packs it at Trafford Park in Greater Manchester.
Is PG Tips British?
Yes, it is a British brand made in England, though its owner is based in the Netherlands and controlled by a private equity firm.
Why did PG Tips stop making pyramid tea bags?
In 2023 it switched to square bags designed to brew faster, in about a minute, and phased out the pyramids.
How much caffeine is in a cup of PG Tips?
The NHS uses 75 mg as the caffeine in a typical cup of tea, and a strong mug can be more. Our tea caffeine comparison has the details.
Who owns Scottish Blend and Lyons tea?
Both belong to LIPTON Teas and Infusions, the owner of PG Tips. Scottish Blend is sold in Scotland and Lyons in Ireland.
Who owns Brooke Bond Red Label?
In India, Unilever, which kept its tea business there when it sold the rest to CVC. Elsewhere, Brooke Bond belongs to LIPTON Teas and Infusions.
Are the PG Tips chimps still used?
No. The last chimpanzee advert aired in January 2002. Since 2007 PG Tips has used Monkey, a knitted puppet, in its adverts.
Sources
- Unilever. Completion of the sale of its tea business, ekaterra, 2022.
- LIPTON Teas and Infusions. ekaterra to become LIPTON Teas and Infusions, 2023.
- PG Tips: brand name, products, factory and advertising history.
- Brooke Bond: founding, growth and acquisition by Unilever.
- Marketing Week. PG Tips on bringing consistency to the brand.
Last updated: 8 October 2026. Sources are linked in the text.
