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Sears Plc
Sears plc was a large British-based conglomerate. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It was acquired by Charles Clore in the 1950s who expanded the company to be one of the largest retailers in Britain. It was acquired by Philip Green in 1999 who oversaw the break up of the group. History The business was founded by John and William Sears in 1891 and initially traded as bootmakers under the name of ''Trueform''.Richard Davenport-HineClore, Sir Charles (1904–1979)''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004 Despite the company using the Sears name, it has no relations with Chicago, Illinois-based Sears Roebuck and Company and its 2005-2019 parent company, Hoffman Estates, Illinois-based Sears Holdings Corporation. In 1929 Sears acquired footwear retailers Freeman, Hardy and Willis. Acquisition by Charles Clore The business was acquired by Charles Clore in 1953 for £4 milli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philip Green
Sir Philip Nigel Ross Green (born 15 March 1952) is a British businessman who was the chairman of the retail company Arcadia Group. He owned the high street clothing retailers Topshop, Topman, and Miss Selfridge from 2002 to 2020. In May 2023, his net worth was estimated by the '' Sunday Times Rich List'' to be £910 million. Green was the chairman and chief executive of Amber Day from 1988 to 1992. In 1999, he acquired Sears plc. He bought British Home Stores (BHS) for £200 million in 2000, and subsequently spent £840 million to acquire the Arcadia Group in 2002. Arcadia became a private company and was delisted from the London Stock Exchange.Arcadia History He unsuccessfully sought to acquire |
Dolcis Shoes
Dolcis Shoes is a shoewear retailer in the United Kingdom that operate online and through retailers. Previously, they owned over 65 standalone shops in the UK and over 150 concessions. Bought by Harvey Jacobson, of the Jacobson Group in 2012, they relaunched their collections the following year to celebrate their 150th anniversary. History The company began life on a street barrow in 1863 when John Upson started to sell his shoes on Woolwich Town Market. Business grew, and from the barrow he graduated to his first store in Woolwich called the Great Boot Provider. In 1920 the company went public and the name Dolcis started to appear over the shop doors. In 1956, it had 250 stores and became part of the British Shoe Corporation, a division of Sears Holdings, and in 1967 was relocated to Leicester. In 1988 Dolcis was chosen by British Shoe Corporation as the pilot company for the installation of EPOS equipment. In December 1997 the Dolcis business was bought by the Alexon Group ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Companies House
Companies House is the executive agency of the British Government that maintains the Company register, register of companies, employs the company registrars and is responsible for Incorporation (business), incorporating all forms of Company, companies in the United Kingdom. Prior to 1844, no central company register existed and Company, companies could only be Incorporation (business), incorporated through letters patent and Act of Parliament (UK), legislation. At the time, few incorporated companies existed; between 1801 and 1844, only about 100 companies were incorporated. The Joint Stock Companies Act 1844 created a centralised register of companies, enabled companies to be incorporated by registration, and established the office of the registrar; the Joint Stock Companies Act 1856 mandated separate registrars for each of the three Jurisdictions of the United Kingdom, UK jurisdictions. Initially just a brand, Companies House became an official executive agency in 1988. All P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asprey
Asprey is a United Kingdom-based designer, manufacturer and retailer of jewellery, silverware, home goods, leather goods, timepieces, and books. With its flagship retail store located in Mayfair, London, Asprey is a luxury retailer for royal and celebrity clients. It has held a Royal Warrant from the Prince of Wales and collaborated with Formula 1 on product lines. History Foundation Asprey was established in England in Mitcham, Surrey, in 1781. Founded as a silk printing business by William Asprey, a descendant of a Huguenot family who fled France during Louis XIV's reign, it soon became a luxury emporium. In 1841, William Asprey's elder son Charles went into partnership with a stationer located on London's Bond Street. In 1847, the family broke with this partner and moved into 167 New Bond Street. From its central London location, Asprey advertised "articles of exclusive design and high quality, whether for personal adornment or personal accompaniment and to endow wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bookmakers
A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays out gambling, bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds. History The first bookmaker, Harry Ogden, stood at Newmarket Racecourse, Newmarket in 1795, although similar activities had existed in other forms earlier in the eighteenth century. Following the Gaming Act 1845, the only gambling allowed in the United Kingdom was at race tracks. The introduction of special excursion trains meant that all classes of society could attend the new racecourses opening across the country. Runners working for bookmakers would collect bets in Clock bag, clock bags. Cash flowed to the bookmakers who employed bodyguards against protection gangs operating within the vast crowds.Dick Kirby, ''The Race Track Gangs'', The Peeler issue 7 July 2002, 'Friends of the Met Police Museum' Illegal betting shops were fined, but some, like Bella Thomasson, ran betting businesses that the police appeared to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Hill (bookmaker)
William Hill is a British gambling company founded in 1934. Its product offering includes sports betting, online casino, online poker, and online bingo. Business operations are led from its headquarters in London, with a satellite office in Malta. The company was previously listed on the London Stock Exchange until it was acquired by Caesars Entertainment (2020), Caesars Entertainment in April 2021. In July 2022, William Hill was subsequently bought by Evoke plc, 888 Holdings for £2.2 billion. History The company was founded by William Hill (businessman), William Hill in 1934. It changed hands many times, being acquired by Sears plc, Sears Holdings in 1971, then by Grand Metropolitan in 1988, then by Brent Walker in 1989. In September 1996, Brent Walker recouped £117m of the £685m it had paid for William Hill when Grand Metropolitan was found to have exaggerated the company's profits at the time of the sale. Japanese investment banking, investment bank Nomura Group, Nomura ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swan Hunter
Swan Hunter, formerly known as Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson, is a shipbuilding design, engineering, and management company, based in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, England. At its apex, the company represented the combined forces of three powerful shipbuilding families: Swan, Hunter and Wigham Richardson. The company was responsible for some of the greatest ships of the early 20th century, most famously which held the Blue Riband for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic, and which rescued survivors from . In 2006 ''Swan Hunter'' ceased vessel construction on Tyneside, but continues to provide design engineering services. History Swan & Hunter was founded by George Burton Hunter, who formed a partnership with the widow of Charles Sheridan Swan (the owner of a Wallsend Shipbuilding business established in 1852 by Charles Mitchell) under the name in 1880. In 1903, C.S. Swan & Hunter merged with Wigham Richardson (founded by John Wigham Richardson as Neptune Works in 186 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miss Selfridge
Miss Selfridge is a British fashion brand and former high street store chain which began as the young fashion section of Selfridges department store in London in 1966. It was part of the Arcadia Group, controlled by Sir Philip Green, which went into administration in late 2020. The Miss Selfridge brand was purchased by ASOS on 1 February 2021 and now operates exclusively online. History Miss Selfridge got its name when Charles Clore, the owner of Selfridges at the time, saw a window display in the Bonwit Teller store in New York City which showed "Miss Bonwit" dresses aimed specifically at teenagers. He later launched it throughout his Lewis's and Selfridges stores throughout the UK. By 1967 Miss Selfridge had concessions throughout the country within department stores, and by 1969 there were some independent branches on the high street. The first of Miss Selfridge's mannequins were based on 1960s icon and model Twiggy, and the first dresses were paper dresses designed to b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Selfridges
Selfridges, also known as Selfridges & Co., is a chain of upmarket department stores in the United Kingdom that is operated by Selfridges Retail Limited. It was founded by Harry Gordon Selfridge in 1908. The historic Daniel Burnham-designed Selfridges, Oxford Street, Selfridges flagship store at 400 Oxford Street in London opened on 15 March 1909 and is the second-largest shop in the UK (after Harrods). Other Selfridges stores opened in the Manchester area at the Trafford Centre (1998) and at Exchange Square (Manchester), Exchange Square (2002), and in Birmingham at the Selfridges Building, Birmingham, Bullring (2003). During the 1940s, smaller provincial Selfridges stores were sold to the John Lewis Partnership, and in 1951, the original Oxford Street store was acquired by the Liverpool-based Lewis's chain of department stores. Lewis's and Selfridges were then taken over in 1965 by the Sears plc, Sears Group, owned by Charles Clore.subscription required Expanded under the Sears ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lewis's
Lewis's is an online retailer and homeware brand. It was also a chain of British department stores that operated from 1856 to 2010. The owners of Lewis's went into administration several times, including in 1991. The first store, which opened in Liverpool city centre, became the flagship of the chain. Several stores in the chain were bought in 1991 by the company Owen Owen and continued to operate under the Lewis's brand name for several years, but after the closure of the Manchester store in 2001, only the original Liverpool store continued to trade under the Lewis's name. This store was sold in 2007 to Vergo Retail Ltd and closed in 2010. Lewis's was briefly a member of the International Association of Department Stores, from 1951 to 1953. History The first Lewis's was opened in 1856 in Liverpool by entrepreneur David Lewis, as a men's and boys' clothing store, mostly manufacturing his own stock. In 1864, Lewis's branched out into women's clothing. In the 1870s, the st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Watney Combe & Reid
Watney Combe & Reid was a leading brewery in London. At its peak in the 1930s it was a constituent of the FT 30 index of leading companies on the London Stock Exchange. It produced Watney's Red Barrel. History The Watney family were the main partners in the Stag Brewery, Victoria, for much of the 19th century. In 1837 James Watney became a partner in the brewery, followed by his sons James and Norman in 1856. On his death in 1884, the brewery became a private limited company. In 1889 James Watney & Co., acquired the Mortlake Brewery (latterly referred to as the Stag Brewery of Mortlake), which had been owned by Charles James Philips and James Wigan since the 1840s. In 1898 the company merged with Combe Delafield and Co. and Reid and Co., and was subsequently known as Watney Combe and Reid. The amalgamated company was the largest brewer in London. The Combe brewery in Longacre and the Reid brewery in Clerkenwell closed almost immediately, and production was concent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crown Jeweller
The Crown Jeweller is responsible for the maintenance of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom, and is appointed by the British monarch. The current Crown Jeweller is Mark Appleby, who was appointed in 2017. History The post was created in 1843 by Queen Victoria, who issued a royal warrant to Garrard & Co., and the title of Crown Jeweller was vested in an employee of the company. Until then, Rundell and Bridge, Rundell & Bridge, who advertised themselves as Crown jewellers, had been responsible for maintaining and preparing Jewels for use at state occasions. If the title had existed before 1843, it would have applied to William Jones of Jefferys & Jones (1782–96), Philip Gilbert of Jefferys, Jones & Gilbert (1797–1820), and Rundell & Bridge (1821–43). Before 1782, the work of repairing and making the Crown Jewels was distributed to various goldsmiths and jewellers on an ad-hoc basis. David V. Thomas (1991–2007) stated that he had been always on call, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
