Carson Cumberbatch PLC is one of the largest conglomerates in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

which also has business interests in Indonesia, Malaysia, and India. The company has its origin in the colonial era, having been founded by merging two companies founded by R. B. Carson and Henry Cumberbatch (nephew of

Robert William Cumberbatch Robert William Cumberbatch (1821–1876) was a British diplomat who held the post of Consul in the Russian and Ottoman Empires. Life and career Cumberbatch was born in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, the son of Abraham Parry Cumberbatch (1784–1840), a ...

). The Selvanathan family, founders of the Sri Krishna Corporation, is the ultimate controlling shareholder of the company.

History

The company has its origin in the colonial era, having founded by merging two companies founded by R. B. Carson and Henry Cumberbatch (nephew of

). The rubber interest of the Carson and Company traded in 1910 in London Stock Exchange with a capital of 1.5 million sterling pounds thus making it the largest rubber business of the country at that time. The Carson and Company converted to a limited liability company in 1913, and the merger with Cumberbatch and Company happened in 1947. In 1976, the company diversified into hotels by building Giritale Hotel and Moonlight Beach Hotel and taking over the management of Pegasus Reef Hotel. In 1988, Sri Krishna Corporation Limited, a 75 years old company, acquired a controlling interest in Carson Cumberbatch. In 1995, Carson expanded its

palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of the oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 33% of global oils produced from ...

interest into Indonesia, and in 1997 a new brewery in Biyagama was commissioned. In 2006, through

Agro Bukit PT Agro Bukit is a palm oil company from Indonesia. Its headquarters is in Sampit, Central Kalimantan. It is a subsidiary of Goodhope Asia Holdings Ltd, part of Sri Lankan conglomerate Carson Cumberbatch. It is or used to be active in South Kali ...

, the company acquired a new plantation of in

Kalimantan Kalimantan () is the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo. It constitutes 73% of the island's area. The non-Indonesian parts of Borneo are Brunei and East Malaysia. In Indonesia, "Kalimantan" refers to the whole island of Borneo. In 2019, ...

, Indonesia. Goodhope Asia Holdings was incorporated in 2008 in Singapore to consolidate the company's plantation sector, and in 2014 the company acquired the Millers Brewery. In September 2020, Ceylon Guardian Investment Trust PLC, the investment managing subsidiary of Carson Cumberbatch entered into an agreement with Singapore-based Gazelle Asset Management to sell 84% of the stake of Guardian Capital Partners PLC. When that agreement did not realise, Carson Cumberbatch, sold a 75.6% stake of Guardian Capital Partners PLC to a Renuka Holdings-led consortium for LKR636 million in October 2021.

Corporate structure

Bukit Darah PLC, a member of Carsons Group, is the largest shareholder of the company while the Selvanathan family, founders of the Sri Krishna Corporation, is the ultimate controlling shareholder. In turn, Carson Cumberbatch owns a 6.15% of shares of Bukit Darah PLC in a circular ownership scenario. The company holds ten quoted companies including Pegasus Hotels of Ceylon, Good Hope PLC, Ceylon Beverage Holdings, and Lion Brewery (Ceylon) and many unquoted companies including Millers Brewery, Agro Bukit, and Pubs 'N Places (Private) Ltd.

Quoted subsidiaries

Source: Annual Report, 2021/22

Operations

The company engaged in businesses in oil palm plantations, beverage, portfolio and

asset management Asset management is a systematic approach to the governance and realization of value from the things that a group or entity is responsible for, over their whole life cycles. It may apply both to tangible assets (physical objects such as buildings ...

, real estate, and leisure sectors and operates in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia and India. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company provided LKR20 million worth of equipment for enhancing PCR testing capabilities to the

Ministry of Health Ministry of Health may refer to: Note: Italics indicate now-defunct ministries. * Ministry of Health (Argentina) * Ministry of Health (Armenia) * Australia: ** Ministry of Health (New South Wales) * Ministry of Health (The Bahamas) * Ministry of ...

. In the year ended on 31 March 2020, the Carson Cumberbatch group incurred a collective loss of LKR 2.65 billion and despite the losses, none of the employees lost jobs or had to take pay cuts.

References

External links