George Steuart and Company (Private) Limited Sri Lanka

George Steuart & Company Limited is the oldest Company in Sri Lanka. It is also one of the oldest existing Companies in the world. It was founded in 1835 by an intrepid and high-principled sea captain James Steuart, who sailed the southern ocean at the beginning of the 19th century and in the course of a voyage to Ceylon, as it then was, saw the potential of the island for economic development and commerce. As his substantive position at the time as Master Attendant of the Colombo Port, precluded him from engaging in any trade, he secured the business to his brother George and named the firm after him. This Company, set up in 1835 as a partnership, acted as a managing and financing house for coffee plantations and in this capacity played an important role in the opening of forest lands for the cultivation of coffee. As a result of the coffee blight in 1870, coffee was abandoned and tea was planted in its place. The Company continued to take an active part in development by financing the transition from coffee cultivation to tea. From that time until 1975, when all large plantations were nationalised, the Company continued to finance and manage some 25, 000 hectares of tea, rubber and coconut lands owned by both British and Sri Lankan Companies and was one of the largest and leading managing agency Companies in Sri Lanka. The Company was incorporated in Sri Lanka and became a Limited Liability Company in 1954. The Head Office building, owned by the group, was developed to make way for a new high-rise-building-Steuart House-in the heart of the Colombo's business and financial district. The nationalisation of plantations in mid seventies prompted the Company, well known for its caution and dependability in business, to diversify into various other fields of activity. George Steuarts ventured into a number of new lines; and the group's current portfolio of activities are represented by the Export of Tea, Import & Distribution of Pharmaceuticals, Airline Ticketing, Inbound & Outbound Tours, sale of Travellers Cheques, Assembly & Installation of Telephones and allied services and products, Manpower Recruitment for prestigious overseas principals, General Sales Agency for Airlines, Insurance, Freight Forwarding and Education. The Parent Company presently has seven Directors. The Directorates of all the subsidiaries are comprised of main Board Directors and Executive Directors selected from the senior staff of the respective Companies.