Hanson Plc

Sectors:

  • Electrical & electronic engineering Accumulator production
  • Non metallic mineral products manufacture Brick & roof & floor tile production inc associated clay products
  • Extraction Gold extraction
  • Extraction Granite extraction
  • Food & tobacco processing Tobacco products manufacture
  • Distribution - retailing Wearing apparel, footwear, haberdashery, mercery, etc, retailing

Notes:

Established in 1969 by James Hanson, 1922-2004, later Lord Hanson, and Gordon White, 1923-95, later Lord White as Hanson Trust Ltd. It was their vehicle for acquiring underperforming businesses, reorganising them and either retaining them or otherwise selling them on. Developed into an industrial conglomerate through acquisition of numerous leading public businesses in UK and USA, often through hostile takeovers. These included Every Ready batteries business (1982), United Drapery Stores (UDS) in 1983, London Brick Co (1984), SCM of USA in 1985, Imperial Tobacco Group in 1986 and Consolidated Goldfields in 1988. 1996 reorganised into four separate businesses three of which were floated - Imperial Tobacco, Energy Group and Millennium Chemicals. The remaining business, known as Hanson Plc, contained construction/building product interests. This was acquired in 1997 by Heidelberg Cement

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