Shell-Mex and BP Limited was a British joint venture between two petroleum companies – Royal Dutch Shell (Shell) and the British Petroleum Company (BP). It was formed in 1932 when both companies decided to merge their United Kingdom marketing operations, partly in response to the difficult economic conditions of the times.
14-695: The parent organisations demerged their United Kingdom marketing operations in 1976. The announcement of this action was as follows: Since 1932 the products of the Companies of the Royal Dutch/Shell Group and of The British Petroleum Group have been marketed in the UK through the agency of Shell-Mex and B.P. Ltd. In that year the company's business amounted to about 3 million tons, out of a total UK market of some 7 million tons. The activities of this most successful enterprise have extended greatly over
28-763: A number of floors remaining occupied by the Ministry of Aviation (latterly the Board of Trade, Civil Aviation Division) until the mid-1970s. During this time, until the department's move to the present location in Farnborough , the building was also the headquarters for the Air Accidents Investigation Branch . On 17 May 2006, The Times reported that the building was for sale and that the Indian-Kenyan Kandhari family
42-759: Is a grade II listed building located at number 80 Strand in London , England. The building was opened in 1932 on the site of the Hotel Cecil and stands behind the original façade of the hotel, between the Adelphi building and the Savoy Hotel . Broadly Art Deco in style, it was designed by Frances Milton Cashmore of the architectural firm of Messrs Joseph . Standing 58 m (190 ft) tall, with 537,000 sq ft (49,900 m ) of floor space, Shell Mex House has 12 floors (plus basement and sub-basement) and
56-511: Is agreed. Should it be decided that these functions should continue for a period after the transfer of the sales activities, then these will continue to be carried out by Shell-Mex and B.P. The employees of Shell-Mex and B.P. will be redeployed within the separate marketing organisations and redundancies will not arise as a result of this re-organisation. The company's head office was at Shell Mex House on London's Strand . Shell Mex House Eighty Strand (formerly Shell Mex House )
70-525: Is immediately recognisable from the River Thames and the South Bank by the clock positioned on the south side of the building. The clock is flanked by four large, hieratic marble figures at the south corners sculpted by William Charles Holland King. The clock, which was known for a time as "Big Benzene", has the largest clock faces in the UK, at 7.62 metres in diameter, just 0.02 metres more than
84-570: The 90th anniversary of the formation of the Royal Air Force". During World War II , the building became home to the Ministry of Supply , which co-ordinated the supply of equipment to the national armed forces. It was also the home of the Petroleum Board , which handled the distribution of petroleum products during the war. It was badly damaged by a bomb in 1940 . The building reverted to Shell-Mex & BP on 1 July 1948, with
98-560: The agency agreement. The National Benzole Company will continue to trade under the National brand and will form part of the BP marketing organisation. The Supply, Storage and Delivery functions, and the Computer and other services, will be the object of further detailed study once brand streaming of direct trade is substantially complete and a plan for the treatment of Authorised Distributors
112-678: The building, which is set back from the Strand, is through a large gated archway. A green plaque was affixed to the wall just inside the gate in March 2008, proclaiming: "The Royal Air Force was formed and had its first headquarters here in the former Hotel Cecil 1st April 1918". Below it is a brass plate stating: "This plaque was unveiled by the Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Sir Glenn Torpy to mark
126-587: The clocks on the Liver Building in Liverpool ; it was supplied by Gillett & Johnston of Croydon . The building faces the river and the Strand. It was described by architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner as "thoroughly unsubtle, but...hold[s] its own in London's river front." The building was for many years the London headquarters of Shell-Mex & BP , for which it was built. Shell-Mex & BP
140-620: The investment agency of the Dubai government, which withdrew its offer before completion. The property was subsequently sold in July 2007 to a fund managed by Westbrook Partners for £988 million. 51°30′35″N 0°07′17″W / 51.50981°N 0.12133°W / 51.50981; -0.12133 Pearson plc Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include
154-593: The next 4–5 years. Since 1966, the Shell and the BP Service Station networks have been managed by separate sales organisations within Shell-Mex and B.P. It is now proposed to extend this 'brand streaming' progressively to cover all products and all market sectors. This will ultimately lead to the establishment of two viable marketing organisations within Shell-Mex and B.P. thus facilitating the termination of
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#1732783864133168-421: The years. In 1970 Shell-Mex and B.P. Ltd. supplied 40 million tons of the UK petroleum market, amounting to a total of 100 million tons. In the majority of countries outside the UK. Shell and BP have always each marketed their products through their own entirely separate organisations and it has been decided that Shell and BP marketing operations in the UK should now be brought more into line with this pattern over
182-528: Was a joint venture company created by Shell and British Petroleum in 1932, when they decided to merge their United Kingdom marketing operations. Upon the UK marketing separation of Shell and BP in 1976, Shell Mex House became the head office of Shell UK, which was Shell's UK operating company. Changes in the way that Shell was run in the 1990s led to the disposal of the property by Shell. Today, simply known as Eighty Strand, most of its floors are occupied by companies belonging to Pearson plc . The entrance of
196-527: Was the front-runner in the battle to buy it from the existing owners, Vincent and Robert Tchenguiz . The Kandharis were said to have offered £530 million for the building, but they were competing with other interested groups, including Menorah, the Israeli insurer, an Irish company, and several British companies. An offer believed to be for £520 million ($ 1.02 billion) was made in December 2006 by Istithmar,
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