Building a plc from coal and iron dealing

ALTHOUGH Heiton Holdings celebrates its centenary as a limited liability company this year, it had its origins in 1818 when Thomas Heiton arrived in Dublin from Scotland to set up a coal and iron business.

When he died in 1877, the business was acquired by Malcolm Inglis and William Hewat, a great grand uncle of the present chief executive, Mr Richard Hewat.

In 1896, it was incorporated as a limited liability company called Thos Heiton & Company. The prospectus at the time noted that horses and stables were a key part of the operation, costing more than the salaried staff.

In 1965, when its net tangible assets amounted to Pounds 717,875, it gained a public listing for its ordinary shares through an offer for sale of 640,900 shares at eight shillings per share.

Heiton expanded its coal interests in 1971 when they were amalgamated into Coal Distributors. It remained in that business for 24 years until it sold out last year.

The builders' providers business came on stream in the 1940s. It expanded strongly from the mid 1960s and now has 20 branches. In 1989, it purchased Atlantic Homecare and expanded its network into eight stores. Heiton now has net tangible assets of Pounds 31.7 million.