Jewson

Jewson Ltd
Limited company
Industry Building materials
Founded 1836
Founder George Jewson
Headquarters Merchant House, Binley Business Park, Binley, Coventry
Area served
 United Kingdom, Ireland
Key people
  • Peter Hindle (Managing director, 1999–2013)
  • Peter Stringer (Managing Director 2013-2015)
  • Mark Rayfield (Managing Director, 2016-present)
Products Building materials
Plumbers
Electricians
Joiners merchants
Parent Saint-Gobain Building Distribution Group
Website Jewson

Jewson is one of the largest chains of British general builders' merchants, selling to small and medium building contractors, as well as to the general public. The chain comprises over 600 branches located all across the United Kingdom.

Jewson, as part of the Meyer group, was acquired by the French conglomerate Saint-Gobain in April 2000.[1]

History

Foundation

George Jewson bought a business in Earith in 1836 to trade goods in the Huntingdonshire Fens of East Anglia.[2] His son John Wilson Jewson (b. 1817) had 13 children: the eldest, George, at the time working with a timber merchant in Norwich, suggested expansion there.

John Jewson bought a house in Colegate in Norwich in 1868, and he moved there where he developed a successful timber, coal and builders' merchant business. The family played a role in civic service in Norwich and Norfolk.

Jewson family

Of John's eight sons:

Frank became a partner in a solicitors, Cozens-Hardy & Jewson.

Richard Jewson (1867–1949) was Lord Mayor of Norwich and the firm became the largest timber merchants between the Thames and the Humber.

Percy Jewson was Lord Mayor in 1934 and Liberal MP for Great Yarmouth during the Second World War. His son, Charles Jewson, son of Percy, was a writer on the history of Norwich and its buildings and Lord Mayor in 1965.

Norman Jewson was a distinguished Cotswold Arts and Crafts movement architect.

Dorothy Jewson, the Labour Party politician and Trade Union organiser, was one of the party's first female Members of Parliament, who represented Norwich.

Another Richard Jewson was Managing Director and Chairman of the holding company for all the timber and merchants interests Meyer International Plc until the purchase by Saint Gobain.

In 2001 Worldwide Business Information and Market Reports stated that "Having undergone a period of major consolidation, the builders’ merchants market is now dominated by Jewson Ltd (owned by Saint-Gobain Building Distribution Ltd), Wolseley and Travis Perkins... These top three companies each have total sales of over £1bn."[3]

Litigation

Jewson Ltd -v- Jewson's Drives Ltd

On 15 May 2009 Jewson Ltd applied under s.69(1)Companies Act 2006 for a change of name of Jewson's Drives Ltd which had been registered since 18 March 2009.

Jewson Ltd argued that they enjoyed goodwill under the name "Jewson" since 1836 and that they were the United Kingdom's leading timber and builders' merchant. Jewson Ltd alleged that Jewson's Drives Ltd had been offering flagging, paving, fencing and related services and that their own customers had been misled by the respondent.

However, as long as Jewson's Drives Ltd had actually been operating as a business and there was no evidence to show they only registered their name for the purpose of obtaining (valuable) consideration from Jewson Ltd or for the sake of obstructing their own registration of a name, then they could have a defence to the application.

Jewson Ltd's application was struck out by the adjudicator.[4]

Sponsorship

Hereford FC

In June 2015, it was announced that Jewson were to become the main shirt sponsor of newly formed phoenix club Hereford F.C. for at least the upcoming 2015/16 football season.[5]


See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Jewson case study
  2. ↑ http://www.owlpen.com/jewson.shtml Norman Jewson
  3. ↑ "Key Note Builders Merchants". Worldwide Business Information and Market Reports. October 2001. Archived from the original on 8 February 2012.
  4. ↑ Jewson Ltd -v- Jewson's Drives Ltd Retrieved 21 September 2014
  5. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 1 August 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2016.

References

External links

Video clips

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