Redland plc

Redland plc was a leading British building materials business. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

Redland plc
IndustryBuilding materials
FateAcquired
SuccessorLafarge
Founded1919
Defunct1997
HeadquartersReigate, UK
Key people
Rudolph Agnew, (Chairman)
Robert Napier, (CEO)
Number of employees
>18,000

History

The company was established in 1919 as a manufacturer of concrete tiles trading as the Redhill Tile Company.[1]

In 1946 the company changed its name to Redland Tiles.[1] In 1954 it expanded into Germany taking a minority interest Braas, a building materials business based in Heusenstamm.[1] The company was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1955.[1] Then in 1959, the company purchased the Bursledon Brickworks site located in the Hampshire village of Swanwick, near Southampton. Redland held control of the brickworks until 1974, when it ceased existence in 1974.[2] In 1969 it started operating in Australia acquiring a significant shareholding in Monier Ltd.[1]

In 1990 it diversified into the manufacture of plasterboard forming a joint venture with Lafarge for that purpose.[3]

By 1991 Braas was contributing almost half the profits of the Group.[4] The company acquired Steetley plc, a major competitor, in 1992.[5] It sold its UK brick manufacturing business to Ibstock in 1996.[5]

The company was acquired by Lafarge in 1997.[6][7]

In 2008 the roofing division was divested by Lafarge.[8] The company became known as Monier Ltd and saw the return of the Redland Brand in the UK. The company is now known as Monier Redland Limited (part of the Monier Group of companies) and is based in Crawley in West Sussex.

References
  1. Monier Redland: History
  2. "The History". www.bursledonbrickworks.org.uk/history. Bursledon Brickworks Industrial Museum. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  3. "Competition Commission Report 1990" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-02-04. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
  4. Having Their Cake: How the City and Big Bosses Are Consuming UK Business By Don Young, Chapter 7 The Rise and Fall of Redland, Kogan Page, 2004 ISBN 978-0-7494-3861-6
  5. French losses and strong pound cost Redland dear The Independent, 28 March 1997
  6. Redlands needs White Knights, The Independent, 16 October 1997
  7. http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/redland-plc-history/
  8. Lafarge sells roofing unit, The Financial Times, 5 December 2006.
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