 | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Drink industry |
| Founded | 1877 |
| Defunct | 1986 |
| Fate | Acquired |
| Successor | Guinness |
| Headquarters | Edinburgh,Scotland |
| Products | Scotch whisky |
| Parent | Diageo  |
The Distillers Company plc was a leadingScotch whisky company and, at one time, a constituent of theFTSE 100 Index. It was taken over in 1986 byGuinness & Co. and is now part ofDiageo.
The Distillers Company origins lie in a trade association known as the Scotch Distillers' Association formed by Menzies, Barnard & Craig, John Bald & Co.,John Haig & Co., MacNab Bros, Robert Mowbray and Macfarlane & Co. in 1865.[1]
It was incorporated in 1877 as The Distillers Company Ltd. (DCL) and in 1894 DCL was listed on the Edinburgh and Glasgow stock exchanges.[1]
During the early part of the 1900s, DCL embarked in programme of distillery acquisitions at low prices in the wake of thePattisons crash of 1898.[2]
In 1914 DCL claimed to be the largest whisky distiller in the world.[2]
In 1919 DCL purchased the totality ofJohn Haig & Co. and in 1925 combined it withJohn Walker & Son andBuchanan-Dewar on a share exchange basis.[1][2]
In 1929 DCL took overWhite Horse Distillers Ltd.[2]
During the 1930s, one product introduced by DCL was an alcohol addition to petrol, called Discol. This was a way to benefit from any excess alcohol production as the market and demand varied. The resultant fuel was cooler-burning and had a higher octane-rating than fuel without the additive.[3]
in 1985 James Gulliver’sArgyll Foods group, which operated the Glen Scotia distillery, launched a hostile bid for DCL. The offer was rejected and The Distillers Company was finally acquired byGuinness in 1986. The transaction was shadowed by controversy because it involved fraudulent activity, becoming known as theGuinness share-trading fraud.[4]
DCL was renamed toUnited Distillers in 1987.[5] In 1998 United Distillers was merged withInternational Distillers & Vintners to create United Distillers & Vintners (UDV), forming the spirits division ofDiageo plc. The company still exists today as Diageo Scotland Ltd.[6][7]
Many malt distilleries were operated by DCL and most are still open under new owners:[8][6]
| Distillery | Location | Year closed |
|---|---|---|
| Caledonian | 1855 | Closed 1988; Demolished |
| Cambus | 1806 | Closed 1993; Converted into a cooperage site |
| Cameronbridge | 1824 | Diageo |
| Carsebridge | 1799 | Closed 1983; Demolished |
| Port Dundas | 1811 | Closed 2011; Demolished |
The Distillers Company owned several blended whisky brands:[6]
Since 1915, during theWorld War I, Distillers supplied industrial alcohol for making explosives. In 1922, it started to manufacture Discol-branded motor fuel made from alcohol.[9] In 1928, it formed together withTurner and Newall, theCarbon Dioxide Co Ltd for the sale of gas, a byproduct of their operations. In 1930, Distillers formed British Industrial Solvents for production of acids and other solvents from industrial alcohol. In 1933, it formed Gyproc Products which was sold toBritish Plaster Board in 1944.[10] In 1937, Distillers acquired British Resin Products.[10][11] In 1939, it acquired a controlling stake inCommercial Solvents and a 50% interest inBX Plastics, where full control was acquired in 1961. It followed by getting 48% shareholding in F. A. Hughes and Co. in 1941 and taking the full control in 1947.[10] In 1947, F. A. Hughes and Co. was merged into British Resin.[10][11]
In 1947, British Petroleum Chemicals was incorporated as a joint venture ofAIOC and Distillers Company. In 1956, the company was renamed British Hydrocarbon Chemicals.[12]
In 1945, Distillers formed a joint venture,British Geon, withB. F. Goodrich to producepolyvinyl chloride and in 1954 it started a partnership named Distrene with Dow Chemicals to producepolystyrene.[11] In 1955, it took full control ofMagnesium Elektron.[10]In 1967, BP acquired chemical and plastic assets of The Distillers Company which were merged with British Hydrocarbon Chemicals to form BP Chemicals.[13]
From 1942,Distillers Biochemicals (DCBL) operated anAgency Factory of the BritishMinistry of Supply manufacturing penicillin inSpeke. The plant was one of the first two factories in Europe to produce penicillin.[14] FollowingWorld War II, DCBL purchased the facility from the UK Government.[15]
Distillers was also responsible for the manufacture of the drugThalidomide in theUnited Kingdom.[16] Thalidomide had been developed byGrunenthal with whom, in July 1957, DCBL signed a sixteen-year contract to market the drug. DCBL ordered 6,000 tablets for clinical trial and 500 grammes of pure substance foranimal experiments andformulation. Thalidomide was marketed in the United Kingdom under the name Distaval, beginning on 14 April 1958. Advertisements emphasised the drug's complete safety, using phrases such asnon-toxic andno known toxicity. Later, Thalidomide was marketed under the names Asmaval, Tensival, Valgis, and Valgraine and found to cause nerve damage and malformations in births.[17]
The Speke site, also known asSpeke Operations, was eventually sold toEli Lilly and Company in 1963.[18] In February 2022 it was acquired by TriRX.[19]
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As of 1 July 1935
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