100 year old companies – who is a centurion?

Do you know any 100 year old companies off the top of your head? As we near the end of our 31^st year of trading, we take a look at some of Britain’s oldest companies who have gone the distance.

With a wealth of history and heritage, Britain is the proud owner of a relatively large number of business that are more than 100 years old.

This year, British Airways embarked on a large scale marketing campaign to celebrate 100 years in the skies. They partnered with a selection of Great British brands to create a limited edition series of food, drink and gifts. They also curated the BA 100 – 100 people who they believe represent the values they want to celebrate and who make Britain the creative, open-minded, pioneering and welcoming place that it is today.

The Royal Mint is the oldest company in the UK, and is over 1,100 years old. In 886 AD, Alfred the Great, King of Wessex, recaptured London from the Danelaw. He began issuing silver pennies with his portrait later that year. This marked the beginning of the Royal Mint that we know today.

Barclays Bank was founded by John Freame and Thomas Gould in 1690 on Lombard Street, London. In 1736, James Barclay, John Freame’s son in law became a partner and later lent his name to the company. It is now a multinational investment and financial services corporation.

Twinings is Britain’s oldest tea company, opening its first tea room at 206 Strand in London in 1706. Interestingly, the company still operates from the same premises to this day.

Clarks shoes had very humble beginnings. James Clark made the first pair of Clarks in 1825 in the village of Street in Somerset, England. He used offcuts from his brother Cyrus’ tannery to create a sheepskin slipper. Within a year, the brothers were selling 1,000 pairs a month. C & J Clark International Limited now has over 1,000 stores around the world. 84% of Clarks is owned by the Clark family.

Winkworth estate agents was established in 1835 by Henry Winkworth. By 1981, Winkworth was officially a franchise with 10 offices. A little-known fact about Winkworth is that it was the first estate agency to be franchised in the UK. Winkworth now has over 91 franchised offices in Britain, France, Portugal, and Spain.

Rowntree’s was founded in 1862 in York. Right from the start, it was one of the major players in the country’s cocoa, chocolate and confectionery manufacturing industry. In 1988, Rowntree’s got acquired by Nestle.

(Thanks to Richtopia for the article, find out about more 100 year old companies here: https://richtopia.com/companies/43-oldest-british-companies-over-100-years-in-business)