A Ruffer & Sons was aCity of Londonaccepting house founded in 1872 and dissolved in 1964.
A Ruffer & Sons was a City of London accepting house, established as aprivate company in 1872 by Baron Alphonse Charles Jacques Alexandre (1819-1896) whose family had been merchants atLeipzig andLyon specialising in thesilk trade. By the turn of the century the bank had diversified into supporting farming and the wool trade in both French and BelgiumFlanders. Its general offices were located at39 Cornhill in the City of London. Hit badly by losses during theFirst World War it was forced to seek a loan from theBank of England and convert from a partnership to a limited company, with the bank as primary shareholder. These shares were put up for disposal by theDisposal and Liquidation Commission, but in 1924 were transferred to theSecurities Trust.[1]
Further losses during the 1930s, and the Second World War led to the company being liquidated voluntarily in 1941. The little banking business that remained was transferred toGlyn, Mills & Co. in London, a major Securities Trust Ltd shareholder, in 1946. A Ruffer & Sons was finally dissolved in 1964.[2]
