Griffiths Bentley

Maker and finisher of pressed metal parts and complete assemblies, later of seat belts and engineering, of Staffordshire.

1964 Shares first traded on the Midlands exchange. Profits had risen every year since 1957

1968 Acquired by P. P. Rodocanachi and Co under Jean Pierre Gommes; planned to acquire an unquoted company; temporary suspension of share trading

1968 W. P. Birtwhistle was appointed chairman at the request of merchant bank Rodo International

1969 Acquired Frederick Cooper (Birmingham) Ltd, a private company

1969 Company's shares quoted on Stock Exchanges

1970 Acquired Hoffman Tool and Engineering Co

1971 Acquired H. J. Barlow, maker of nuts and bolts and bright drawn steel

Also acquired at some point Welding and Fabrication Holdings and F. H. Smedley

1971 The Proctor family sold its Britax-Excelsior safety equipment firm to Griffiths Bentley

1972 The Britax (London) subsidiary sold its weaving business to "W" Ribbons, makers of nylon and polyester webbing, in exchange for 21 percent of that company's shares

1972 As part of a policy of rationalisation, Griffiths Bentley sold its subsidiary Griffiths Bentley (Engineers) including Carbjectors and MP Engineering to Ingall, Parsons, Clive and Co

1972 Acquired Wingard, maker of safety belts and motor accessories

1972 Sold Frederick Cooper (Birmingham) to Coley-Rotolin Group; this essentially completed the rationalisation of the business, to concentrate on larger specialist fields. The company's profits came largely from fasteners and automotive accessories

1973 The chairman, P C Hegard, resigned after shareholders refused to support a bid for Bryanston Finance, of which he was also a director

1973 Bristol Street Group offered to acquire Griffiths Bentley; the offer was initially turned down by one of the directors, Stephen Proctor but eventually BSG were successful

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