Elders Finance
Elders Limited logo
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| Public | |
| Traded as | ASX: ELD,ASX: ELDPA |
| Industry | Agribusiness |
| Founded | 1839 in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia |
| Founder | Alexander Lang Elder |
| Headquarters | Adelaide, Australia |
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Area served
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Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, China |
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Key people
|
Mr Mark Allison CEO, |
| Products | Livestock, Farm Supplies, Wool, Grain, |
| Services | Real Estate, home loans, Agronomists, Production Advice, Financial planning, Insurance, International Trading. |
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Number of employees
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2000+ |
| Website | www |
Mr Mark Allison CEO,
Hutch Ranck Chairman (Since May 2014),
James Jackson Deputy Chairman (Since April 2014),
Elders Limited is an Australian-based agribusiness company that provides products such as livestock, farm supplies and grain as well as financial services to the farming community in Australia and New Zealand.
With the fledgling colony of South Australia only three years old, Alexander Lang Elder arrived in Port Misery (now Port Adelaide) in 1839 aboard the family-owned Minerva to set up business and explore opportunities for his family's Scottish-based merchant and shipping business. Alexander’s brothers, William, George, and Thomas joined Alexander, however out of the four only Thomas stayed in Australia and became an Australian citizen. Thomas moved to Adelaide in 1854 and worked with George for a year. After George left, Thomas formed Elder, Stirling & Co with Edward Stirling,Robert Barr Smith, and John Taylor. On Stirling and Taylor's retirement in 1863, Barr Smith and Thomas Elder formed Elder Smith and Co.
In 1888 Elder Smith and Co. was amalgamated with its subsidiary Elder's Wool & Produce Co. Ltd, and Peter Waite became the chairman of directors of the new company, which was called Elder Smith & Co. Ltd. Now in his eighties, Barr Smith launched Elders Trustee and Executor Limited and formed Elders Metal and Mercantile in Melbourne. Elders profits more than doubled from 1918 to 1928, with Peter Waite as chairman until his death in 1922, followed by Tom Elder Barr Smith, son of Robert.
The Elders centenary in 1939 coincided with the start of World War II when the highly competitive wool-selling business was put into government control. As the war continued, the wool auction system remained closed and the British government acquired the total Australian wool clip. In 1941, the British government paid Elders today’s equivalent of more than $3 billion, and nearly $4 billion the following year. The return to the open auction system in 1946 saw the start of a dramatic five-year run for wool. National wool revenues increased 29% and 64% respectively in the first two full years of peace.
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Wikipedia