| Type: | Public company |
| Industry: | Electricity supply |
| Founded: | 8 June 1914 |
| Defunct: | 31 March 1948 |
| Fate: | Nationalisation |
| Successor: | British Electricity Authority, Area Electricity Boards |
| Hq Location City: | London |
| Hq Location Country: | United Kingdom |
| Area Served: | Parts of Middlesex, Kent, Lothians, Boston Lincolnshire |
| Key People: | see text |
| Services: | Electricity supply |
| Net Income: | £47,107 |
| Net Income Year: | 1930 |
| Owner: | Shareholder |
The Electrical Finance and Securities Company Limited was a UK electricity holding company which provided financing to electricity undertakings to enable them to start supplies of electricity. Its subsidiary companies were in south east England, Lincolnshire and south Scotland. It was registered on 8 June 1914 and was abolished upon nationalisation of the electricity industry in 1948.
The Finance and Securities Company had the ‘purpose of financing electric supply undertakings and the securing of provisional orders for the supply of electricity’. It was established on 8 June 1914.[1]
By the early 1930s the securities company owned and controlled five subsidiary companies, namely:[2]
The growth of the companies is illustrated in the table.
| Colne Valley | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1921 | 629 | 589 | |
| 1922 | 882 | 893 | |
| 1923 | 1178 | 1810 | |
| 1924 | 1641 | 1840 | |
| 1925 | 2326 | 2668 | |
| 1926 | 3034 | 3728 | |
| 1927 | 3777 | 5000 | |
| 1928 | 4557 | 6231 | |
| 1929 | 5485 | 8458 | |
| 1930 | 6270 | 11,031 | |
| 1931 | 7778 | 14,022 | |
| 1937 | 12,055+2027 | 19,385 | |
| 1947 | 30,055 | 23,884 | |
| Northwood | |||
| 1921 | 544 | 1154 | |
| 1922 | 687 | 1480 | |
| 1923 | 863 | 1980 | |
| 1924 | 1057 | 2290 | |
| 1925 | 1284 | 2805 | |
| 1926 | 1472 | 3210 | |
| 1927 | 1711 | 3871 | |
| 1928 | 2023 | 4801 | |
| 1929 | 2280 | 5625 | |
| 1930 | 2771 | 7082 | |
| 1931 | 3320 | 8460 | |
| 1937 | 33,042 | 13,012 | |
| 1947 | 14,800 | 19,186 | |
| Foots Cray | |||
| 1921 | 587 | 588 | |
| 1922 | 577 | 623 | |
| 1923 | 627 | 697 | |
| 1924 | 558 | 725 | |
| 1925 | 758 | 877 | |
| 1926 | 812 | 960 | |
| 1927 | 892 | 1130 | |
| 1928 | 975 | 1350 | |
| 1929 | 1076 | 1607 | |
| 1930 | 1170 | 2033 | |
| 1931 | 1299 | 2455 | |
| 1937 | 7149 | 2823 | |
| 1947 | 1916 | 3403 | |
| Lothians | |||
| 1924 | 411 | 1040 | |
| 1925 | 889 | 3957 | |
| 1926 | 121,0 | 4668 | |
| 1927 | 1488 | 5400 | |
| 1928 | 1939 | 7605 | |
| 1929 | 2868 | 10,217 | |
| 1930 | 3541 | 12,101 | |
| 1931 | 4139 | 14,210 | |
| 1937 | 26,297 | 12,214 | |
| 1947 | 15,172 | 17,684 | |
| Boston & District | |||
| 1924 | 160 | 285 | |
| 1925 | 274 | 606 | |
| 1926 | 372 | 1082 | |
| 1927 | 519 | 1468 | |
| 1928 | 638 | 1780 | |
| 1929 | 1378 | 2918 | |
| 1930 | 1697 | 3602 | |
| 1931 | 2079 | 4532 | |
| 1937 | 12,373 | 6340 | |
| 1947 | 4730 | 9713 | |
The company offered £320,000 of Shares on the Stock Market in May 1927. A further issue of Shares was made in January 1932.
The company's net profits were £5,253 (1921); £5,641 (1922); £6,253 (1923); £8,009 (1924); £16,586 (1925); £20,660 (1926); £32,928 (1928); £39,320 (1929); £47,107 (1930).
The directors of the company were:
The registered office was 62-63 Queen Street, Cannon Street, London, EC4 (1927), and Salisbury Square House, Salisbury Square, London, EC4 (1932).
The Electrical Finance and Securities Company Limited and all its constituent companies were abolished on 31 March 1948 when the British Electricity Industry was nationalised.[6] The generating plant and transmission systems devolved to the British Electricity Authority and the distribution systems to the appropriate geographical Electricity Board, for example the Eastern Electricity Board, the Southern Electricity Board, etc.
The company was one of five electricity undertakings that operated over large geographical areas. Its assets were divided between two or more Area Electricity Boards.[7] The five companies were: