Cosalt plc was a diversified marine safety and leisure company, based in

Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town in Lincolnshire, England with a population of 86,138 (as of 2021). It is located near the mouth on the south bank of the Humber that flows to the North Sea. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes dir ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

. It was a constituent of the

FTSE Fledgling Index The FTSE Fledgling Index comprises companies listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange (LSE) which qualify as eligible for inclusion in the FTSE UK series but are too small to be included in the FTSE All-Share Index. There is no liq ...

. The name ''Cosalt'' was a

portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

of the company's original title The Great Grimsby ''Coal, Salt'' and Tanning Company. Formed in 1873 as a co-operative of fishing vessel owners, it was a communal best-value support services company involved in servicing and supplying a variety of products and services for fleets, fishing, and other vessels, providing: *

Salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...

- to preserve the food and fish caught * Tanning - to waterproof

sail A sail is a tensile structure, which is made from fabric or other membrane materials, that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails may b ...

s and

rope A rope is a group of yarns, Plying, plies, fibres, or strands that are plying, twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have high tensile strength and can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger ...

Coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

- to fire the vessels and

galley A galley is a type of ship optimised for propulsion by oars. Galleys were historically used for naval warfare, warfare, Maritime transport, trade, and piracy mostly in the seas surrounding Europe. It developed in the Mediterranean world during ...

s *

Clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, garments, dress, apparel, or attire) is any item worn on a human human body, body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin s ...

The communal model grew around a number of other fishing and later UK marine ports, before the company was bought out by the son of one of the original founders, businessman (John) Carl Ross of the

Ross Group The Ross Group was a British food company founded in Grimsby, England in 1920. The Ross brand remains prominent in the retail frozen fish market. David Ross, the co-founder and significant shareholder in mobile telephone retailer The Carpho ...

. The company floated in 1971, and was chaired by his son; and then grandson David Ross, co-founder of the

Carphone Warehouse Carphone Warehouse is a mobile phone retailer based in London, United Kingdom. In August 2014 the company became a subsidiary of Currys plc (previously named "Dixons Carphone"), which was formed by the merger of its former parent Carphone Wareh ...

. The original businesses has now developed into marine and industrial safety centre, and diversified into other markets, including: Workwear and Corporatewear.

Leisure

Through its association with Grimsby, Cosalt was a major player in the UK

caravan Caravan or caravans may refer to: Transport and travel *Campervan, a type of vehicle also known as a motor caravan *Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together **Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop *Caravan (trail ...

market. It created the Piper brand, and after the failure of

Sam Alper Samuel Alper OBE (25 April 1924 – 2 October 2002) was an English caravan designer and manufacturer responsible for the famous Sprite caravan, founder of the Little Chef chain of roadside restaurants, a viticulturist who revived the ancient ...

's Caravans International bought its brands, including: ACE, Abbey, Bessacarr, Sprite; and later the independent Cotswold brand. However, in the 1990s they began concentrating on static caravans, and sold off many of the touring caravan brand to the rival Swift Leisure. In the mid-2000s and looking to sell the Leisure business, the division was eventually sold to Leeds-based turnaround specialists Endless Fund, but collapsed into administration 12months later. After losing 240 jobs and one factory, it was bought by a management team and renamed Cosalt Custom Homes, preserving 20jobs.

Collapse

Cosalt had a turbulent later history. Cosalt Marine was sold to Survitec in August 2011. This was followed shortly afterwards by an unsuccessful bid by chairman David Ross to buy and delist the company. Trading in the company's shares was suspended when the deadline for producing its Annual Results and Report for year end 31 December 2011 passed in April 2012. Cosalt eventually went into administration on 15 February 2013, with a secured bank debt of £11.4M and pension deficit of almost £52M. Of the three operating divisions, Cosalt Wind Energy ceased trading and was liquidated, Cosalt Offshore was sold as a going concern to rival group ATR backed by NBGI Private Equity, and Cosalt Workwear sold as a going concern to Ross.Administrators Proposals http://www.pwc.co.uk/assets/pdf/cosalt_proposals.pdf

References

External links

Cosalt plc, the listed companyCosalt.com - main operating division, marine safetyCosalt Custom Homes
former holiday home division, now independent {{Authority control Companies based in Grimsby Companies established in 1873 Service companies of the United Kingdom Companies listed on the London Stock Exchange Caravan and travel trailer manufacturers