Lee Beesley
of Coventry and other places
Electrical engineering contractors
1907 William Lliffe noticed the conscientious workmanship of Charles Lee and Herbert Beesley and suggested they set up in business together, forming Lee Beesley. They installed generators, storage batteries and wiring circuits in a number of Midland country houses including Mr Lliffe’s home, Allesley House, in Coventry.
See also Gordon Samuel Nott
Post-WWI Moved to larger premises in Smithford Street, Coventry. Here the company had a shop, workshop and stores on the ground floor capped by two floors of offices plus a van and two handcarts.
1928 One of the sub-contractors who built Coventry Power Station[1]
1930s Shadow factory construction provided business for Lee Beesley who wired and equipped a new propeller factory near Gloucester and the first air frame factory on the edge of Liverpool.
1951 Set up branches in Birmingham and Swansea.
1953 The Liverpool branch established
1956 A substantial interest in the company was acquired by S.M.F. Holdings Ltd; that company co-opted Mr G. S. Nott and Mr L. C. Keifert from Lee Beesley onto its board[2]
1957 George Nott Industries formed as the Holding Company
c1960 Plymouth branch established
1968 Townsend-Thoresen was formed, with Lee Beesley as the national electrical engineering division of European Ferries.
1970s Electrification of British Leyland’s Longbridge factory for the production of the Mini Metro.
1970s Acquired by Sam Smith who turned round the loss making company[3]
1981 Acquired (part of) Humphrey’s and Glasgow; formed Lee Beesley Humphrey’s & Glasgow Ltd to provide a mechanical and electrical service for industry and commerce.
1988/9 Deritend Electrical Services Ltd was acquired by Triplex Group and merged with Lee Beesley to form Lee Beesley Deritend plc.
1991 Acquired by the GTIE Group; worked on several joint venture projects with its new French colleagues, including the construction of the Channel Tunnel
2011 Lee Beesley joined the International Network of Industrial experts of VINCI Energies; rebranded as Actemium.
See Also
Sources of Information
- [1] Vinci website