Rank Organisation
1937 Formation of Odeon Theatres Limited as a public company
Late 1940s: Prospect of receivership; rescue organised by the company's accountant John Davis[1].
1947 the new name J. Arthur Rank Organisation was used to describe the organisation which included Odeon Theatres Ltd, Gaumont British Picture Corporation and many subsidiary and associated companies[2]
1947 Several companies within the Organisation were involved in scientific research[3]:
- British Acoustic Films Ltd
- Bush Radio Ltd
- Cinema-Television Ltd
- Taylor, Taylor and Hobson Ltd
1949 "The price of shilling seats to be increased by threepence at every cinema in the country, an official of the Rank Organisation stated last night. All the cinema interests got together and decided on this action, she said ..."[4]
Early 1950s: Recognising that a world-wide decline in cinema-going, associated in particular with the growth of television, had begun, Rank sought to meet this challenge, eventually developing in three ways:[5]
- Rationalising its cinema interests.
- Broadening the scope of its activities in other entertainment fields to match new tastes (e.g. it added bowling alleys, bingo halls and ice-rinks, and expanded its activities in dancing). It also entered the fields of catering, banqueting, motorway services and the hotel business.
- Developing its manufacturing activities, both to meet growing demand in the leisure field (cameras, projectors, television sets and radios) and to provide industry with a wide range of electronic equipment and precision measuring instruments.
1952 Acquisition of Andrew Smith Harkness Ltd.
1955 Odeon Theatres Limited was renamed Rank Organisation Ltd; there was no financial connection between Rank Organisation and Ranks Ltd although J. Arthur Rank was chairman of both companies[6]. The main elements of the group were:
- Odeon Associated Theatres Ltd
- Odeon Properties Ltd
- Gaumont-British Picture Corporation Ltd, with its wholly-owned subsidiaries Cinema-Television Ltd, which owned Bush Radio, and British Optical and Precision Engineers Ltd
- British and Dominion Film Corporation Ltd, with its wholly-owned subsidiary Denham Laboratories
- Theatre Publicity Ltd, Screen Audiences Ltd, J. Arthur Rank Screen Services Ltd
1956 Joint venture with Haloid Corporation in a new company Rank-Xerox to manufacture and market a new "electro-photographic" process[7]. Investment in Haloid Corporation at the suggestion of John Davies[8]. Large amount invested in the new venture Rank-Xerox which after 4-5 years paid off handsomely.
1956 Formation of Rank Precision Industries
1958 Acquired Thompson, Diamond and Butcher, distributor of gramophone records and manufacturer of associated equipment. Rank would not proceed with its plans to establish a record club. Set up Rank Records Ltd to manifacture and sell gramphone records under the brand Top Rank.[9]
1959 Acquired Wharfedale Wireless Works, makers of loudspeakers[10]. Having acquired Regency Holdings, providing a "piped" radio and television service in certain South Coast towns, Rank set up Rank Relay Service to offer radio and television relay[11]
1960 Set up Top Rank Bowling as a subsidiary; over the next few years most of the leisure activities were rebranded as Top Rank.
1960 Established Rank Audio Visual Division
1962 Rank Organisation acquired Murphy Radio[12] which was merged with Bush Radio as Rank-Bush Murphy.
1962 Completed a merger with Gaumont British Ltd which allowed considerable simplification of administration through a unified divisional structure:[13]
- Film Activities
- Leisure Service Activities
- Manufacturing and Marketing Activities (Bush and Rank Cintel, Rank Precision Industries and Rank Xerox).
1963 Rank sold its holding in British Relay Wireless and Television, which it had acquired with Murphy, to International Publishing Corporation[14].
1964 Rank Organisation bid for R. B. Pullin and Co[15]
1968 Queen's Award to Industry for Export Achievement [16]
1968 Acquired Hilger and Watts and Strand Electric Holdings[17]
1968 Top Rank Rentals sold c.100 TV rental shops to Granada TV Rental[18]
1968 New division of Rank established, using Rank Taylor Hobson as the nucleus, to develop the scientific instruments businesses; it was renamed Rank Precision Industries.
1968 Acquired Strand Electric Holdings Ltd.
1969 Acquired H. J. Leak and Co[19].
1969 The Rank Organisation had several parts[20]:
- Film Industry
- Rank Leisure Services
- Audio Visual, including recent acquisitions of Strand Electric Group, H. J. Leak and Co, A. C. Vallance
- Rank Xerox
- Hotels
- Rank Bush Murphy
- Scientific Instruments, recently formed, included Taylor Hobson Division, Hilger and Watts Group, the broadcast equipment part of Rank Bush Murphy and Rank Electronic Tubes
1969 A number of subsidiaries were put into liquidation including Rank Relay Services.[21]
1972 Rank ceded control of Rank-Xerox to the American partners[22]. Ill-fated bid for Watney Mann which upset the American shareholders. Acquired Oddenino's property company.
1975 Disquiet amongst investors about the poor results from the diversification policy, about the composition of the board and about the dominance of the Rank Foundation in the share register[23].
By 1995 Top Rank operated 140 bingo clubs across the country under the Top Rank and Mecca names[24]
1995 Rank Group was formed to acquire the business interests of the Rank Organisation.
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ The Times, 17 September 1975
- ↑ The Times 25 March, 1947
- ↑ The Times 1 October 1947
- ↑ Western Daily Press 30 July 1949
- ↑ Monopolies and Merger Commission report 1969
- ↑ The Times, 10 October 1955
- ↑ The Times 10 September 1956
- ↑ The Times, 17 September 1975
- ↑ The Times 16 October 1958
- ↑ The Times 22 May 1959
- ↑ The Times Sept. 1, 1959
- ↑ The Times 12 April 1962
- ↑ The Times Oct. 12, 1962
- ↑ The Times 18 September 1963
- ↑ The Times 9 June 1964
- ↑ The Engineer 1968/04/26 p650
- ↑ The Times 10 April 1969
- ↑ The Times Apr. 20, 1968
- ↑ The Times 10 April 1969
- ↑ The Times Oct. 17, 1969
- ↑ London Gazette 17 June 1969
- ↑ The Times, 17 September 1975
- ↑ The Times, 17 September 1975
- ↑ The Times June 8, 1995