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37-576: Sir Nigel Broackes (21 July 1934 – 29 September 1999) was an English businessman and the founder of Trafalgar House , one of the United Kingdom's largest contracting businesses. Born in Wakefield , Broackes was the son of solicitor Donald Broackes and artist Nancy Rowland (née Tansley) Broackes. His father died in 1943 whilst serving in the Army, leaving only a small estate. With his mother denied

74-711: A 21% stake in the business when it was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1963. In 1964 the Company took a 49% stake in Bridge Walker , a construction company owned by Victor Matthews . After that Broackes and Matthews worked together to build Trafalgar House into one of the United Kingdom's largest contracting businesses. Trafalgar House owned the Cunard Line from 1971 to 1998. Broackes resigned in 1992 following heavy losses associated with

111-400: A 25 percent stake in the company, leading to Simon Keswick becoming chairman. Trafalgar's fiscal performance remained unsatisfactory throughout the mid-1990s. The Norwegian shipbuilding and engineering group Kværner acquired Trafalgar House on 18 April 1996. In the following years, Kværner divested many of the ex-Trafalgar subsidiaries. The origins of Trafalgar House are closely linked with

148-590: A diversification into offshore activities. In 1979 Broackes became chairman of the London Docklands Development Corporation , from which post he resigned in 1984. He was knighted for his role at that organisation in 1984. He died in 1999 in Chelsea and is buried in the church of St Peter and St Paul, Checkendon . His estate was valued at over £16 million; his wife, who died in 1993, left an estate of over £5 million. He

185-511: A relationship with Commercial Union , which also bought shares in EIPI and prepared to act as a financial backer for new property developments. Almost immediately, EIPI bought a 55 per cent stake in CU's residential property subsidiary Westminster & Kensington Freeholds , thereby acquiring control of a property portfolio of £3.3 million for an equity cost of only £550. During 1963, Trafalgar House

222-559: A system such as CREST or DTCC , a central securities depository . As of May 2022, the United States Supreme Court was considering the case of Slack Technologies, LLC v. Pirani , with regard to whether Sections 11 and 12(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933 require plaintiffs to plead and prove that they acquired shares of stock registered under and traceable to the registration statement they claim

259-494: A war pension as her husband had died of natural causes, Broackes was raised in straitened circumstances. His paternal grandfather, despite having been on bad terms with his son, left money for his grandson's education. Broackes was educated at Brambletye School in Sussex and Stowe School , and joined Stewart & Hughman , a firm of Lloyd's underwriters , on leaving school. He then did national service from 1951 to 1953 with

296-410: A well-established UK wide construction division, in exchange for £114 million. As the early 1990s recession approached, Trafalgar continued to invest heavily: some £750 million had been invested in commercial property alone between 1988 and the first half of 1990. Moreover, interest was not being charged to the profit and loss account but capitalised, and substantial borrowings were being carried off

333-524: A £347 million loss being recorded in 1993, which made Trafalgar itself a potential takeover target. Amid these heavy losses, Broackes stepped down from his position. Trafalgar's far-east associates, Jardine Matheson , invested in Trafalgar House and initially took a fifteen percent stake in the company, which was later increased to twenty-five per cent. The vehicle used for this investment was Jardine's property subsidiary Hong Kong Land . Jardines

370-504: Is controlled by the Keswick family , a dynasty of Scottish origin; thus Simon Keswick took the chair at Trafalgar House in 1994. Despite this change in management, the company's fortunes continued to slide. On 18 April 1996, Norwegian shipbuilding and engineering group Kværner acquired Trafalgar House following a £904 million offer. The acquisition provided Kvaerner with a broad-based portfolio of companies with 34,000 staff. During

407-699: Is given of the scope of industries, operations and companies embraced by Trafalgar House during its existence. The Ritz Hotel in London was acquired by Trafalgar House in 1976. It was subsequently sold to David & Frederick Barclay in exchange for £ 75 million in 1995. In 1980, there was public outcry at the sudden destruction by Trafalgar House of the Art Deco main entrance to the former Firestone tyre factory (designed by Wallis, Gilbert & Partners , 1928–29) in Brentford , which had been torn down over

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444-519: The 3rd Hussars , and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Armoured Corps in 1953, leaving in 1954 After completing his national service, Broackes returned to Stewart & Hughman for a short time before deciding to go into business himself; three "unsuccessful and diverse ventures" in house conversion, hire purchase, and tool-making used up most of the inheritance he received from his grandfather, but he came to realize

481-482: The "true value" of shares at that particular time. A minority discount is usually applied when valuing a minority shareholding (less than 50%), where ownership of the shares offers limited control over the business if this is held by a majority shareholder. Tax treatment of dividends varies between tax jurisdictions. For instance, in India , dividends are tax free in the hands of the shareholder up to INR 1 million, but

518-538: The 1970s and 1980s. However, its decision to continue making heavy investments on the runup to the early 1990s recession , alongside fiscal reporting issues identified by the Financial Reporting Review Panel , led to the company's accounts for 1992 being restated from a £112.5 million profit to a £30 million loss along with a £347 million loss being recorded in 1993. Broackes stepped down as Trafalgar's chairman and Jardine Matheson purchased

555-606: The August bank holiday weekend to (legally) pre-empt and thus nullify an imminent preservation order under the listed buildings legislation. The company was due to embark on the West Cross Development, an extensive redevelopment of the large industrial site, which would have been seriously hampered by a requirement to maintain both the lengthy architectural facade of the old factory and its broad approach sightlines and boundary features. During 1988, Trafalgar House

592-471: The Baltic Exchange, was unable to bear the costs of fully restoring the building to English Heritage 's requirements and thus sold the site to Trafalgar House. During 1998, the site was resold, with planning permission , for £81 million to Swiss Re , who commissioned and occupied the renowned Gherkin building , designed by Foster + Partners . Trafalgar bought Ideal Homes in 1967. It had been

629-594: The activities of Nigel Broackes , an entrepreneur whose interests in share dealing and small scale property development brought him into contact with the directors of the Eastern International Investment Trust , a small trust quoted on the London Stock Exchange . During 1959, Broackes acquired a 42 per cent holding in Eastern's property subsidiary, Eastern International Property Investments (EIPI). Two years later, Broackes formed

666-403: The balance sheet. during 1991, the Financial Reporting Review Panel threatened to apply for a court order that would require Trafalgar to charge a £142.5 million reduction in asset values through the profit and loss account rather than through reserves, which eventually led to directors restating their 1992 accounts from a £112.5 million profit to a £30 million loss. Massive provisions led to

703-399: The cargo fleet had shrunk to eighteen, half of which were by then container ships, while the size of the passenger fleet had remained constant. In 1964, Trafalgar House bought 49 percent of Bridge Walker (increased to full ownership in 1967). At the end of the following year it bought Trollope & Colls . From then on the prime umbrella operating division, in terms of turnover and revenue,

740-427: The company paying the dividend has to pay dividend distribution tax at 12.5%. There is also the concept of a deemed dividend , which is not tax free. Further, Indian tax laws include provisions to stop dividend stripping . Historically, investors were given share certificates as evidence of their ownership of shares. In modern times, certificates are not always given and ownership may be recorded electronically by

777-516: The construction and engineering sectors. These would form a corporate group, the creation and performance of which was largely attributed to Broackes, who gained a reputation as a particularly successful financier. An acquisition with significant long term consequences for the company was a 49% share of Bridge Walker in 1964 (increased to full ownership in 1967). Bridge Walker had been carrying out much of Trafalgar's construction work but, apart from giving Trafalgar House its own contracting experience,

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814-466: The course of thirty years or so, Trafalgar House became a formidable international industrial and commercial undertaking. During the final few years of its existence, it was consistently tabled as the largest contracting organisation in the UK. A conglomerate by nature is usually a dynamic entity and fluid in its structure and content. For the purpose of this historical perspective, a general indication only

851-517: The deal also brought in the owner, Victor Matthews , later to become Trafalgar's group managing director. With Matthews and Broackes working together, acquisitions became high-profile. In that same year Trafalgar House bought Ideal Homes ; Ideal had been the largest private house builder in the UK before the Second World War ; under its new ownership, it soon expanded once again. The long-established London contractor, Trollope & Colls ,

888-473: The development potential of London bomb-sites. He worked for a West End estate agent for a short time to learn the property business, and a stockbroker friend of his mother helped him come into contact with potential financial backers. Using his last remaining asset, a small apartment block, and with the support of Eastern International , a small finance house, he started buying up bomb sites in London. Eastern International became Trafalgar House and Broackes took

925-516: The initial footings of the company. Shortly after its floatation during 1963, Trafalgar House leveraged the issuing of shares to fuel its acquisition of various other businesses, which included The Cementation Company , John Brown Engineering , Cleveland Bridge , Redpath Dorman Long , Ideal Homes , Comben Homes , Broseley Homes , Cunard , British Rail Engineering Limited , and Express Newspapers . Trafalgar's growth strategy consisted of direct investments and acquisitions continued throughout

962-462: The late 1990s and into the early 2000s, Kvaerner elected to divest itself of numerous divisions that it had acquired through its purchase of Trafalgar. Share (finance) The income received from the ownership of shares is a dividend . There are different types of shares such as equity shares, preference shares, deferred shares, redeemable shares, bonus shares, right shares, and employee stock option plan shares. Shares are valued according to

999-411: The pre-eminent private housebuilder before the Second World War , recording sales in excess of 5,000 houses per year but, by the time of the acquisition, it was building little more than 1,000 per year. New management enabled Ideal to grow again and the size of the division was increased by the acquisition of two other large housebuilders: Comben Homes in 1984 and Broseley Homes in 1986. By 1987, Ideal

1036-485: The purchase of hotels but the high-profile acquisition was of the Ritz Hotel in 1976. Trafalgar also entered fields that were far removed from its original property development and construction roots with the purchase of Cunard in 1971 and Beaverbrook's Express Newspapers in 1976. Matthews' attentions were largely focussed on Express and this was floated as a separate entity in 1982 with Matthews as chairman. In

1073-661: The purchaser's requirements, including the site plan, the production capacity, the raw material feedstock, and other constraints. During 1989, Trafalgar House purchased a 40% shareholding in British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL). Three years later, the stake in BREL was sold to fellow shareholder Asea Brown Boveri . In 1992, Trafalgar House acquired the Davy Corporation, a group of international engineering companies which also included

1110-428: The various principles in different markets , but a basic premise is that a share is worth the price at which a transaction would be likely to occur were the shares to be sold. The liquidity of markets is a major consideration as to whether a share is able to be sold at any given time. An actual sale transaction of shares between buyer and seller is usually considered to provide the best prima facie market indicator as to

1147-521: Was floated on the London Stock Exchange , at which point Commercial Union owned 46 per cent of the business while Broackes held a 21 per cent stake. The existence of a public quotation enabled Trafalgar House to issue shares for acquisition, a facility that Broackes made extensive use for the company to become a formidable international industrial and commercial undertaking. Both acquisitions and direct investments were primary vehicles used for growth; typical targets of attention were businesses operating in

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1184-568: Was Trafalgar House Construction; generally referred to both inside the company and within the industry as 'THC'. As the division grew in scope and stature it was responsible for more and more large international projects. In 1986, Trafalgar House acquired John Brown Engineering, which built industrial gas turbines and also implemented licensed processes, such as the Union Carbide Corporation Polyethylene Plant. The basic processes were engineered to fit

1221-461: Was acquired at the end of the year. Trafalgar House continued to expand across a period of 20 years, during which time acquisitions played a major role. In the construction and engineering sector, these included The Cementation Company , John Brown Engineering , Cleveland Bridge and Redpath Dorman Long . Housebuilding saw the acquisition of two top ten housebuilders, Comben Homes and Broseley Homes . Trafalgar’s property development had led to

1258-644: Was again selling around 5,000 houses per year. During the mid 1990s, Ideal proved to be an attractive prospect for several companies to acquire from Trafalgar, although the sales process proved to be somewhat challenging. Trafalgar House acquired the Cunard group of shipping and leisure companies in 1971. At the time of the acquisition, Cunard operated cargo and passenger ships, hotels and resorts; its fleet comprised forty-two active cargo ships, with fourteen more under construction, as well as three passenger ships, with two more under construction. But, twelve years later,

1295-519: Was involved in a joint development with British Aerospace to redevelop the former Royal Small Arms Factory site at Enfield to create Enfield Island Village . In 1995, it bought the bomb-damaged site of the historic Baltic Exchange building , at 30 St Mary Axe in London, which had been severely damaged when the Provisional Irish Republican Army detonated a bomb nearby on 10 April 1992. The building's former owner,

1332-510: Was married (as her second husband) to Joyce Edith Horne, née Skidmore; they had two sons and a daughter. Trafalgar House (company) Trafalgar House was a British conglomerate with interests in property investment , property development , engineering, construction, shipping, hotels, energy and publishing . It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index . During its later years of operation, it

1369-419: Was routinely referred to as being the largest contracting organisation in the UK. The entrepreneur Nigel Broackes , who would be the chairman of Trafalgar House throughout much of its existence, played a key role in the company's emergence during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Broackes worked with the Eastern International Investment Trust and Commercial Union to build a portfolio of assets that would be

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