The Company came into existence as a Corporate Entity on 10th
March, 1949 when it was incorporated under the name 'MACNEILL
& BARRY LIMITED' to do business inter alia as General
Merchants, Agency Business and Manufacture of all kind of
articles.
The Company became a Multidivisional Company with interests
among other things in Manufacture of Tea, Jute, Engineering and
Reprographic Items. The Company also had Agency and Trading
Divisions.
The year 1975 was a land mark year for the Company when the
then Williamson Magor & Co. Limited who were primarily
engaged in the business of Growing and Manufacturing of Tea was
amalgamated with the Company whereupon the name of the Company
was changed to 'Macneill & Magor Limited'.
Williamson Magor & Co. Limited, had a long history in tea
business dating back to the year 1868 and is considered to be
one of the pioneers of tea business in India. As a result of the
amalgamation, the Company became a major tea Company in the
country while having various other business in its fold. Later,
the Company changed its business strategy and decided to hive
off all divisions other than tea to a few newly set up companies
within the group.
In lieu of transfer of the said business the Company was
allotted substantial number of shares by the Transferee
Companies as consideration for the business so transferred. On
completion of the process the Company again changed its name to
Williamson Magor & Co. Limited in 1992 having principal
business of growing and manufacture of tea and investments in
group companies. Later the tea business was also hived off in
favour of certain group companies as a result of which the
Company became a pure Investment and Group Shareholding Company.
The Company accordingly made an application to the Reserve
Bank of India for registering itself as a Non-Banking Financial
Company (NBFC). The Company was granted the required licence to
act as an NBFC by the Reserve Bank of India on 31st March, 2003
and since then the Company is in the said business with
substantial investments in the group companies like McLeod
Russel India Limited, Eveready Industries India Limited, Kilburn
Engineering Limited, McNally Bharat Engineering Company Limited
etc.,
The Company is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange, The
National Stock Exchange of India, The Calcutta Stock Exchange
and the Gauhati Stock Exchange.
The Company owns a ten storey building at Four Mangoe Lane,
Surendra Mohan Ghosh Sarani, Kolkata 700001 where the Registered
Office of the Company is situated. The Company being the major
Group Shareholding Company, the Group is popularly
known as "WILLIAMSON MAGOR GROUP" (WM GROUP).
The
history of the Williamson Magor Group dates
back to 1866. In that year, Captain J H Williamson, who was
already involved in the management of tea estates in Assam, met
R B Magor, an assistant with the Great Eastern Hotel in
Calcutta. Their subsequent meetings and association led to the
signing of the First Partnership Deed of the company in 1869.
This was valid for a period of two years.
The agreement was renewed in 1871 and by 1875,
its term was increased to five year periods. The company had its first office
premises at 7 China Bazar Street. J H Williamson died in 1898.
George Williamson, who had already withdrawn his capital from
the business in 1879, died in 1903. In 1904, the Partnership
Deed was renewed with R B Magor and J H Williamson's brother -
in - law, Robert Lyell, enjoying an equal share. Williamson Magor & Co. worked
closely with its London partnership,
George Williamson & Co., the firm which a few years earlier
had been started by James Williamson's brother, George.
The fortunes of the Williamson Magor Group grew
along with the boom in the Indian tea industry. By the turn of
the century, the company was handling the affairs of 44 tea
estates. The Group also became involved in other businesses,
including coal. Although the Indian tea industry continued to
prosper during the First World War, there was an immediate post
- war slump around 1920. The situation became worse with the
Wall Street crash of 1929 and the ensuing depression. The
production levels of tea far outstripped consumption. George
Williamson, the London end of the partnership and Williamson
Magor, the Indian end of the partnership, consolidated their
position in the tea industry through the twenties and the
thirties.
R B Magor died in 1933. His grandson, Richard
Magor introduced B M Khaitan to the Group. Initially, Briju
Khaitan supplied tea chests and fertilisers to the company and
had become a friend of Pat Williamson, a grandson of J H
Williamson. Williamson Magor & Co. was converted into a Limited Company in 1954. In 1961, a crisis loomed over
the company when B Bajoria, an investor, acquired nearly 25%
stake in the Bishnauth Tea Company, the flagship in the
Williamson Magor Tea Estates. The Khaitan family provided the
money to buy out Bajoria's stake. B M Khaitan was invited to
join the board of the company and later, in the face of stiff
resistance, went on to become Managing Director of the Group.
The
Guthrie family was the majority shareholder in the McLeod Russel
Group. In 1987, they decided to sell their tea plantations in
India. B M Khaitan negotiated with them and bought out the
estates. This meant the Williamson Group became the largest
private tea producer in the world. George Williamson went on to
acquire and manage tea estates in East Africa. This effort was
pioneered by Richard Magor. In April 2001, George Williamson
& Company, Kolkata and Williamson Magor & Company,
Kolkata mutually decided to separate and work independently. As
a result, George Williamson & Company, London ceased to be
the overseas partners and selling agents for Williamson Magor
& Company, who forged their own links and have now developed
a competent overseas sales network.
The
offices of the Williamson Magor Group were shifted from 7 China
Bazar Street to 4 Mangoe Lane in 1894. Originally known as
Hampton Court, the premises was redeveloped through the mid
1960s.
Mangoe
Lane tells its own story. It was lined with mango trees on both
sides and presumably took its name from these, though why the
'e', which normally appears only in the plural from 'mangoes',
should have been tagged on is not known.
The foundation
stone of the splendid new building was laid on
the 24th January, 1966 by
Mrs. O. J. Roy.
Rising nine
floors from street level, with an attractive penthouse on top of
the ninth storey, the building, with its somewhat severe
lines, is in keeping with modern trends of architecture.
One of the most
important features of the eighth floor is the very well-equipped
tea tasting room, which is situated on the north side or front
of the building in order to provide optimum working conditions
for the "spitting" staff.
The ten storey block - which stands to the
present day - was officially opened in 1968. This asset proved
to be a valuable investment as a number of floors were let out.
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