Heenan Spark
Holding company, of Tonbridge (1961)
of St James, London
1946 Incorporated as a private company[1], presumably Spark Alloys
1946 Public company
1951 British Flint and Cerium Manufacturers was owned by Spark Alloys which then sought a quotation on the Stock Exchange[2]
1957 Spark Alloys, manufacturers of cerium alloys and lighter flints, changed its name to Spark Holdings; acquired Swedish Turnery and Plywood Co[3]
1960 Major expansion began, acquiring companies with good names but in poor condition - Hall and Kay, T. R. Creffield and Son, G. Hastings and Co[4], Hawke Cable Glands, J. T. Price and Co (brass and aluminium founders)[5] and Ductwork[6]. Hall and Kay was later known as Kempergate (Ashton) Ltd, maker of heating and ventilation systems[7]
1962 Acquired Blackstock Engineering Co of Enfield, a public company, doubling the group's precision engineering interests[9], and Printing and Allied Holdings, which controlled James Upton, of Birmingham, and Surrey Fine Arts[10]
1970 The engineering activities continued to dominate the results of the company, producing 70 percent of overall profits[11]
1972 Heenan Beddow arranged a reverse take-over of Spark Holdings, an industrial holding company with interests in engineering, merchanting, textiles and printing, to form Heenan Spark[12]
1973 Sold printer James Upton, of Birmingham, to Tinsley-Robor[13]
1973 The group consisted of 2 divisions[14]
- Financial - Banking, Property
- Industrial - Consumer Goods, Engineering
Consumer Goods included:
- Rosedale Industries, maker of plastic goods
- Conway Stewart and Co
- Taylor, Law and Co
- W. and H. H. James
- Bonsoir, maker of pyjamas and nightwear
- Stability (Hosiery), maker of socks
- Swedish Turnery and Plywood Co, distributor of imported timber products
Engineering included:
- Hall and Kay/Ductwork, environmental control, heating and ventilation equipment
- Creffield Blackstock, precision engineering
- Hawke Cable Glands, maker of cable glands
- J. T. Price and Co and Trionite, non-ferrous founders
1974 Bill Switchgear acquired the interests of Heenan Spark in the Monmer Foundry[15]
1974 The company acquired the plastic profile and sheet extrusion business at Stroud of BP Chemicals, which would be renamed Stroud Extrusions[16]. Sold Hawke Cable Glands to McKechnie Metals[17] but several of the main subsidiaries were making losses.
1975 Receiver appointed at Rosedale Industries[18], at Tan-Sad[19], and at Conway Stewart and Co[20]. Sold Bonsoir to Celestion[21].
1975 Rosedale Group including Conway Stewart and Co was acquired by Linpak, a private company[22]
1976 The company was compulsorily wound up[23]
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ The Times, Mar 20, 1976
- ↑ The Times, Jul 23, 1951
- ↑ The Times, Oct 21, 1957
- ↑ The Times, Feb 19, 1960
- ↑ The Times, Jun 24, 1960
- ↑ The Times, Nov 07, 1960
- ↑ The Times, Jul 03, 1976
- ↑ The Times, Apr 05, 1961
- ↑ The Times, Jan 29, 1962
- ↑ The Times, Aug 24, 1962
- ↑ The Times, Oct 01, 1970
- ↑ The Times, Nov 29, 1972
- ↑ The Times, Jul 04, 1973
- ↑ The Times, Sep 12, 1973
- ↑ The Times, Jan 16, 1974
- ↑ The Times, Jun 19, 1974
- ↑ The Times, Oct 11, 1974
- ↑ The Times, Jun 04, 1975
- ↑ The Times, Jul 08, 1975
- ↑ The Times, Sep 05, 1975
- ↑ The Times, Aug 30, 1975
- ↑ The Times, Nov 26, 1976
- ↑ The Times, Nov 07, 1975