| Crown Paints | |
| Type: | Private |
| Foundation: | Late 1850s |
| Location: | Darwen, Lancashire |
| Industry: | Decorating |
| Products: | Paint |
| Parent: | Hempel Group |
| Homepage: | crownpaints.co.uk |
Crown Paints is a major paint manufacturer based in Darwen, Lancashire. It is owned by Hempel Group.
The origins of the business lie in the history of paint making in Hollins Road Darwen, which can be traced back to the late 1850s.[1] It initially traded as WalPaMur after the initials of The Wall Paper Manufacturers' Company.[1] [2]
The company traded independently as Walpamur until it acquired by Reed International in 1965.[3] Queen Elizabeth II visited Crown House, the Walpamur headquarters in Darwen, in 1968.[4] It was taken over by Williams Holdings in 1987[5] and then by Akzo Nobel in 1990.[6]
It was sold in a management buyout backed by the private equity firm Endless in August 2008, in a deal to satisfy the European Union's concerns of a possible monopoly after Akzo Nobel's takeover of ICI.[7] [8]
In June 2011, the company was acquired by Danish paints manufacturer, Hempel Group.[9]
The company were once sponsors of Liverpool F.C. and Blackburn Rovers F.C.[10]
The company has held a Royal Warrant since 1949. It remains one of only three companies to hold the Royal Warrant for the manufacture of paints.[11]