- Ocean Group plc
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Ocean Group Industry Transport Fate Merged with NFC plc Successor Exel plc Founded 1865 Defunct 2000 Headquarters London, UK Ocean Group plc was a major British transport business. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
History
The company was founded by Alfred and Philip Holt, as the Ocean Steamship Company, to provide a steamship service known as the Blue Funnel Line, between the United Kingdom and China.[1] It was generally known as Holts and had a trademark blue funnel on its ships.[1] For many years it used Swire Group as it shipping agents.[1] In 1947 it formed Malayan Airways.[1]
It was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1965.[1] In 1969 it joined forces with British & Commonwealth Holdings, Furness Withy and P&O to form Overseas Containers Limited to exploit the introduction of containerization.[1] In 1972 it acquired William Cory, a major shipping agent, and the following year, it changed its name to Ocean Transport & Trading.[1] In 1986 it withdrew Overseas Containers Limited and in 1990 it renamed itself Ocean Group.[1]
In 2000 it merged with NFC plc to form Exel plc.[2]
References
Further reading
- E.J. Gubbins. Managing Transport Operations. Kogan Page. ISBN 0749439289.
Categories:- Companies established in 1865
- Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange
- Companies based in London
- Transport companies of the United Kingdom
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