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The Global Family Business Champions

UK's Oldest Family Businesses

Family Business United are committed to compiling and maintaining a record of the oldest family businesses across the UK and below you will find the current listing of the oldest family firms in the country, going back generations and representing thousands of years of familial ownership and leadership.

 In compiling the listings, we have used various means to make it as comprehensive and accurate as possible.  However, due to the fact that there is no legal requirement to disclose the status of the underlying ownership in business it is not an easy process.  We used our networks, connections at trade bodies and extensive desktop research to determine the oldest family businesses but are not able to say unequivocally that there are not a few other hidden gems out there.  From time to time another long-standing family firm is brought to our attention and after the necessary research and confirmations have been obtained, the business is added and the list updated.  

 

If you are aware of a family business that needs to be considered for inclusion then please do not hesitate to get in touch so that we can update the list accordingly.

R J Balson & Son Ltd

1515

Britain’s oldest family-run butcher shop with seasonal game and local, free range meats, traceable from the farm to the fork based on the High Street in Bridport, Dorset.

John Brooke & Sons Ltd

1541

Brooke's Mill in Yorkshire remains family owned and became an office park in the 1990s following the closure of the textile business and now houses over 30 businesses.

Heygate & Sons Limited

1562

The Heygate group spans farming, flour and feed milling and baking, with ten flour mills on four sites, a feed mill, two modern bakeries and 7500 acres of mainly arable land in England.

M Lucking & Sons Ltd

1631

Family owned funeral directors serving the community around Chelmsford since 1631.

C. Hoare & Co.

1672

C. Hoare & Co. is the UK’s oldest privately-owned bank, owned continuously by the Hoare family for over 12 generations and founded back in 1672 by Sir Richard Hoare.

Morning Foods,Limited

1675

Morning Foods has a long tradition of providing healthy and nutritious wholegrain oats to the food ingredient and manufacturing sectors in a wide variety of finished product and packaging formats.

James Lock & Co. Ltd

1676

Luxury hats born out of fashion and functionality, delivered by the world's oldest hat shop.

Toye, Kenning & Spencer Limited

1685

British artisans of status and identity pieces, harnessing skills honed over three centuries and generations of the Toye family in Birmingham's jewellery quarter.

C.P.J. Field & Co. Limited

1690

CPJ Field is a family business, creating personalised funerals for the 21st century with a history spanning over 335 years.

Folkes Group Limited

1697

Folkes Holdings continues to expand under an entrepreneurial approach that has remained throughout the single bloodline ownership to this day, and now trades on an international scale across multiple markets, yet maintains the conservative values upon which three centuries of stability were founded.

Shepherd Neame Limited

1698

Based in the medieval market town of Faversham in Kent, Shepherd Neame is an independent family business that has the distinction of being Britain’s oldest brewer, with a rich history dating back to 1698 and beyond.

Berry Bros. & Rudd Limited

1698

Berry Bros. & Rudd is Britain’s oldest wine and spirits merchant. Family-owned and run, the company still trades from No.3 St James’s Street, though with offices in Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo too, as well as an office and retail store in Washington, DC.

W. Austin & Sons (Stevenage) Limited

1700

The Austin family has been caring for bereaved Hertfordshire families for over 300 years with an unrivalled heritage, experience and strong focus on personal care.

Salts Healthcare Limited

1701

Salts Healthcare is one of the UK’s oldest, family-run companies that has grown to become a highly successful international medical device manufacturer.

Fortnum & Mason (London) Limited

1707

Since 1707, Fortnum & Mason has been home to extraordinary hampers, delicious food, joy-giving gifts and unforgettable experiences.

Webb & Son (Combs)Limited

1711

Webb & Son, based at Combs near Stowmarket, has been identified as the oldest family firm in East Anglia.

John White & Son (Weighing Machines) Limited

1715

A leading UK supplier of weighing solutions which since being founded in 1715 has gained a reputation for innovation and engineering excellence.

Webster & Horsfall Limited

1720

Webster and Horsfall bring over 300 years of expertise in wire manufacturing from the heart of their modern and versatile manufacturing plant and are committed to delivering excellence in every wire and spring wire product they create.

Stephen Walters & Sons Limited

1720

Stephen Walters is a luxury silk fabric manufacturer with a rich past, crafting bespoke textiles for fashion and interiors with style.

Floris Limited

1730

Floris founder Juan Famenias Floris and his wife Elizabeth began selling perfume, combs and shaving products in the elegant quarter of London’s St James. The Floris shop they opened at 89 Jermyn Street remains the heart of the business and is still run by their descendants today.

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