Cope Allman and Co

Cope, Allman and Co of Unity Tube Works, Icknield Square, Birmingham (1914)

Precision engineers and non-ferrous tube makers, which evolved into a very widely spread company producing cosmetics, fashion clothiers and food,, etc, of Bournemouth (1962)

c.1899 Company incorporated

1914 Brass, copper and steel tube maker

1931 Court appearance, apparently for bankruptcy

1932 Reduction in capital

By 1956 Was a maker of brass bedsteads and was almost defunct

1956 Acquired by Leonard Matchan, who had had a career with Max Factor and Revlon, who used it as the basis for a conglomerate

By 1957 was a public company

1957 Moved to new premises; also proposed to purchase a small mill; seeking further acquisitions in order to provide diversification.

1959 Shares admitted for trading

1961 Acquired Gilby Engineering. Acquired Etablissements Leon Reboul, France's only maker of lipstick containers, which was similar in size to Edward Webster, Cope Allman's subsidiary

1961 AGM told that diversification policy had proved itself; acquired substantial interest in J. W. Young and Sons and its subsidiaries, one of which, Emery Brothers, provided an important basic material used by the Group. Also had several international businesses. Acquired Troman Brothers, makers of sanitary ware and plumbers brass foundry and Wade Smith and Co, engineers of Wolverhampton

1962 2 subsidiaries - Edward Webster and Ets. Reboul - made almost all the lipstick and cosmetic containers used in Britain and Europe and had pioneered the making of valves for aerosol containers in Britain and Europe. Agreement on exchange of promotional and technical information with the Eyelet Divn. of the International Silver Corporation of Meriden, Connecticut, USA

1962 Acquired Wills (Bournemouth), makers of pre-cast buildings and concrete blocks. Acquired Medlicott and Wheatley, steel agents, of Birmingham and its subsidiaries

1963 Acquired a group of 7 engineering companies, Reside, of Brighouse, Yorks

1963 Had a total of 33 subsidiaries. New acquisitions in South Africa and France. Acquired S. Allcock of Redditch, Worcestershire, makers of fishing tackle. Shares were offered in the South African holding company Moved R. Ramsden and Son from London to larger premises in Darlington, making brwery and distillation equipment; acquired Metaglo

1964 Formed US subsidiary which would acquire manufacturing interests to produce products including Young's fishing reels and Allcock's rods as well as children's bicycles. Acquired Duraplex Industries and its associate Duraplex (Plastics) of Edinburgh, makers of plastic sheeting; also acquired E. F. Electric of Watford, maker of small electrical switches. Planned to enter field of aluminium anodizing equipment and expand in plastics; would float the French subsidiary. Acquired Aerosol Research Co of USA, maker of aerosol valves. Scrip share issue and employeed share scheme in a novel approach to handling the surplus in the accounts

1965 Subsidiary Knowles and Co of Bradford won an order for textile machinery for Russia

1965 Midland and Northern Counties Investments, another Matchan company, acquired Cope Allman and Co, Harper Engineering and Electronics and the "rump" of J. W. Young and Sons, all interests of Mr L Matchan, putting them into a new company Cope Allman International, largely for tax reasons. Arrangement with the Valve Corporation of America, giving the combined group about one third of the world market for aerosol valves. Acquired three-quarters of the shares of Barclay-Stuart (Plastics)

1966 Acquired Northern Export (Furs) of Leeds; bid for Lloyd's Packing Warehouses of Manchester but, for the first time the Stock Exchange had to intervene in a bid, asking for clarification of the bid, which failed; a revised bid eventually succeeded; acquired Peter Brunskill, a fashion retailer of Bradford and Manchester and George Silverman of London, maker of women's dresses

1966 Sold Troman Brothers and Phillips and Rabone, makers of sanitary fittings in brass and plastic, to Armitage Ware

1966 Acquired Millreed Ltd, a private property company and menswear producer A. Bodner and its subsidiary Elem Clothes (London)

1967 Merger of the company's interests in waterproof papers, plastic films and bags, self-adhesive tapes and other products with those of Capseals Ltd and PMA Holdings in a new company Packaging Products Group. Later sold its interests to Capseals

1968 Owned 150 companies in engineering, packaging, fashion and consumer goods

1969 Sold William Elwell and Sons to R. G. Brown and Co; sold 2 other subsidiaries to Quinton Hazell

1970 Cope Allman transferred several paper and board making subsidiaries to Capseals in exchange for controlling interest in the company

1971 Sold its South African interests and the pharmaceutical venture. The Grimsby works of Richardson and Coppin, printers, was being closed. The number of trading companies, once as many as 300, had been reduced to 80.

1986 Henlys, garage and car makers, owned 43 percent of Cope Allman; 49 percent of Henlys was owned by Hawley Group, run by Michael Ashrcoft who was also chairman of Cope Allman; Hawleys acquired the other 57 percent of shares with the intention of combining the ownership

1988 Henlys sold Cope Allman to a new investment company, Quoteplan; Hawley Group changed its name to ADT and would invest in the new company and retain rights to acquire up to 49 percent interest in the business. Sold Long and Crawford of Manchester, makers of secondary distribution switchgear to GEC.

1989 Quoteplan sold Bell-Fruit Leisure to Kunick Group, another fruit machine company

1992 Bowater Industries acquired Cope Allman Packaging, by buying Quoteplan

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