Synthomer
 | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| LSE: SYNT | |
| Industry | Chemicals |
| Founded | 1863 |
| Headquarters | London, England |
Key people | Neil Johnson (Chairman) Calum MacLean (CEO) |
| Revenue | £1,618.9 million (2018)[1] |
| £142.1 million (2018)[1] | |
| £103.3 million (2018)[1] | |
Number of employees | 2,900 (2019)[2] |
| Website | www.synthomer.com |
Synthomer plc (LSE: SYNT), formerly known as Yule Catto & Co, is a British-based chemicals business. It is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
History
The company traces its roots back to 1863, when Andrew Yule founded a trading house known as Andrew Yule & Co. in Calcutta.[3] At the same time Andrew's brother, George Yule, set up George Yule & Co. in London, which acted as British agency arm of Andrew Yule & Co.[4]
When in 1919 Andrew Yule & Co. and George Yule & Co. were sold to the US banking group J.P. Morgan & Co. and its British merchant banking affiliate Morgan Grenfell & Co., both were turned from a partnership into a private limited company.[5] That same year Thomas Catto (1879–1959) was sent to India to take over the management of the firm from Sir David Yule (1858–1928), a nephew of Andrew Yule.[6] David Yule continued to hold the title of Chairman but had no active part in the operations of the business.[6]
In 1920 Thomas Catto and David Yule changed the name of the British purchasing arm of Andrew Yule & Co., George Yule and Company, to Yule, Catto & Company Ltd.[7] Due to increased taxation, the devaluation of the Indian rupee and the abolition of the managing agency system, Yule, Catto & Co decided in 1969 to sell its shareholding in Andrew Yule & Co. to the Indian government.[8]
With the acquisition of Revertex Chemicals in 1980,[7] Thomas Catto's son, Stephen (1923–2001) started to turn Yule Catto & Co. into an international speciality chemicals and building products manufacturer.[9] Since 2007 the group has been transformed from a diversified chemical business to a focussed speciality polymer business. In 2012 the company changed its name to Synthomer on the basis that the majority of its business already traded under that name.[10]
Operations
The company has three activities: polymer chemicals, pharma chemicals and impact chemicals.[3]
References
- ^ a b c "Annual Results 2018" (PDF). Synthomer. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
- ^ "Our business". Retrieved 20 March 2019.
- ^ a b "Yule Catto - Company Structure Information from ICIS". icis.com. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
- ^ Yule, Catto & Co AIM 25
- ^ Jones, p.96
- ^ a b Jones, p.325
- ^ Jones, p. 297
- ^ Obituary: Lord Catto Daily Telegraph, 6 September 2001
- ^ Interim Management Statement of Yule Catto & Co Plc for the period 1 July to 8 November 2012
Sources
- Jones, Geoffrey (2007). Merchants to Multinationals. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-829450-4.