Finlay Tea - The Consolidated Tea & Lands Co. (Bangladesh) Ltd

The Companys origins date back to 1882 with the incorporation in the UK of the North Sylhet Tea Company Limited and the South Sylhet Tea Company Limited. By 1886 the areas under tea amounted to 7,100 acres and 8,040 acres respectively. The Estates were managed from the outset by Finlay Muir & Co., Calcutta with Sir John Muir as Chairman of both Companies. The two companies were merged in 1896 to form the Consolidated Tea and Lands Co., Limited. By this time the companies also held large tracts of land in Assam, the Dooars, Darjeeling, North Travanacore and Ceylon. The new Company was then floated on the Glasgow Stock Exchange, with Finlay interests retaining a significant shareholding while acting as Agents and Secretaries in India and the UK. In 1897 certain of the Consols South Indian assets were sold to The Kanan Devan Hills Produce Co., Limited in exchange for shares in that Company which were held up until Finlays rationalized the public companies in 1976. By 1949 the Consol C...