Guinness Mahon
Guinness Mahon was an Irish merchant bank originally based in Dublin but more recently with operations in London.
| Industry | Investment bank |
|---|---|
| Fate | Acquired |
| Successor | Investec |
| Founded | 1836 |
| Defunct | 1998 |
| Headquarters | London, UK |
Key people | Geoffrey Bell (Chairman) |
History
London business
The firm was founded as a land agency in Dublin in 1836 by barrister Robert Rundell Guinness, a great-nephew of the brewer Arthur Guinness,[1] and John Ross Mahon, an estate agent.[2][3] A London office opened in 1873, closed in 1916 during World War I and then re-opened again in 1923.[2] This became Guinness Mahon Holdings, which merged with Lewis & Peat Ltd in 1974, forming Guinness Peat (subsequently Guinness Peat Group).[2]
The Group ran into difficulties in the late 1980s[4] and demerged into three parts: the Guinness Mahon investment banking business, Fenchurch Insurance and the off-shore investment activities.[2] The offshore investment activities in Australia and New Zealand (then known as Guinness Peat Group) were bought by Brierley Investments Limited (a business controlled by Sir Ron Brierley) in 1990[5] and the Guinness Mahon investment banking business was acquired by Bank of Yokohama in 1991[4] and then sold on to Investec in 1998.[6]
Meanwhile, Fenchurch Insurance merged with Lowndes Lambert in 1997 to create Lambert Fenchurch, then with Heath Group in 1999 to form Heath Lambert and then with Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in 2011 to form Gallagher Heath.[7]
Irish business
From April 1986 to August 1994, Guinness & Mahon (Ireland) Ltd was a wholly owned subsidiary of Guinness Mahon & Co., London. The bank's Irish private banking operation was acquired by Irish Permanent on 31 August 1994, and operated from a single location. The operations acquired were scaled down in 2000.[8] There were also companies associated with Guinness & Mahon (Ireland) Limited and Guinness, Mahon & Co., London, who placed deposits with Guinness & Mahon (Ireland) Limited. These companies were - Guinness, Mahon (Guernsey) Limited, College Trustees Limited, Guinness, Mahon Jersey Trust Limited, Overseas Nominees Limited and subsidiaries of Credit Suisse.[9]
Operations
Its subsidiaries and offshoots included Guinness Peat Aviation and Guinness Peat Group in New Zealand[10] and Guinness Flight Hambro, which became Investec Guinness Flight.[11]
References
- Jonathan Guinness (November 28, 1998). "Was it pure genius?". The Spectator.
- AIM 25 Collection
- RRG's family and other details
- Guinness Mahon goes up for sale 21 January 1998
- Weiss exits Guinness Peat but stays on at Coats The Australian, 1 April 2011
- Investec enlarges its footprint Business Times, 1998
- About Gallagher Heath
- "IL&P trims Guinness & Mahon arm". www.independent.ie. 1 May 2000. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
- "Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General".
- Guinness Peat Group appoints four new directors
- Money Marketing, November 1998
Further reading
- Ivy Frances Jones (1974). The rise of a merchant bank.