Abram Lyle and Sons
of Glebe Sugar Refinery, Glasgow
of Plaistow Wharf, Victoria Docks, London
Formerly McDonald & Lyle.
1795 Established under the name of Abram Lyle & Sons.
1850s Abram Lyle, cooper and shipowner, went into partnership with John Kerr, developed a shipping business, making the Lyle fleet one of the largest in Greenock. The area was heavily involved in the sugar trade with the West Indies, and the business included the transport of sugar.
1865 Together with four partners (the principal one being John Kerr), Abram Lyle purchased the Glebe Sugar Refinery in Glasgow, and so added sugar refining to his other business interests.
1872 When John Kerr, the principal partner, died in 1872, Lyle sold his shares in Glebe and began the search for a site for a new refinery.
1881 Together with his three sons Lyle bought two wharves at Plaistow in East London to construct a refinery. The site was around 1.5 miles from the sugar refinery of his rival, Henry Tate.
1883 The refinery started operation. In its first year Lyle's refinery showed a loss of £30,000, with economies being made by asking staff to wait for their wages on occasion. The new London refinery produced 214 tons in its first year. Lyle's "Golden Syrup" was a product right from the start.
1882 (?) The new refinery was processing over 1,100 tons of sugar a year.
1885 Golden Syrup was first filled into tins.
1890 Incorporated as a Private Limited Company
1891 Abram Lyle died; the business was carried on by his sons.
1921 Joined with Henry Tate and Sons to form Tate and Lyle. Both companies had large factories nearby each other and this prompted the merger.
See Also