 | |
| Industry | Conglomerate |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1982 |
| Defunct | 2000 |
| Fate | Demerged |
| Successor | Chubb Kidde |
| Headquarters | Derby, United Kingdom |
Key people | Sir Nigel Rudd (co founder and chairman) Roger Carr (CEO) Brian McGowan (co founder) |
Williams Holdings was a major British conglomerate. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange, and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
History
The company was established by Nigel Rudd and Brian McGowan in Derby in 1982 to acquire under performing businesses.[1] Its first major acquisition was J & HB Jackson, a Coventry based metal business, in 1985.[1]
The company went to acquire Walpamur, a paints business, from Reed International in 1987,[2] and Berger, Jenson and Nicholson, another paints business, from Hoechst AG in 1988. The two businesses were combined to create Crown Berger.[3]
The vehicle division, which operated nineteen car dealerships, was demerged as Pendragon PLC in November 1989.[4]
Williams Holdings bought Pilgrim House in the United States (owners of Kidde) for £331m in 1988 and Yale & Valor, a locks and gas fires business, in 1991.[1]
It started to focus on security in the 1990s, selling its paints business to Akzo Nobel in 1990.[5] In February 1997, it bought Chubb Security for $US2.1 billion.[6] It changed its name to Williams plc in 1998 and sold Yale Lock Company to Assa Abloy in March 2000.[7]
Demerging
The company demerged into Chubb and Kidde in July 2000.[8]
References
- ^ a b c "Nigel Rudd, My best deal". Management Today. 1 April 1991.
- ^ "Crown Paint – Brushstrokes of History" (PDF). p. 49. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
- ^ "Berger, Jenson and Nicholson, Paint Makers Records". National Archives. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
- ^ "Bottom Line: Good timing at Pendragon". The Independent. 23 March 1993. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
- ^ "Flint Group: Significant dates". Archived from the original on 1 October 2010. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
- ^ Williams of Britain to buy Chubb Security New York Times, 15 February 1997
- ^ Swedish firm to buy Williams's Yale Lock Unit Los Angeles Times, 8 March 2000
- ^ Williams plunges 14% as margins shrink Independent, 19 July 2000
External links
- "Chubb Group Limited - Filing History". Companies House. Retrieved 20 September 2017.