Overend, Gurney & Company
| Public | |
| Industry | Finance |
| Fate | Bankruptcy |
| Founded | 1800 |
| Founder | Thomas Richardson John Overend |
| Defunct | 10 May 1866 |
| Headquarters | 65 Lombard Street, London, UK |
|
Area served
|
United Kingdom |
| Services | Financial services |
Overend, Gurney & Company was a London wholesale discount bank, known as "the bankers' bank", which collapsed in 1866 owing about £11 million, equivalent to £935 million in 2016.
The business was founded in 1800 as Richardson, Overend and Company by Thomas Richardson, clerk to a London bill discounter, and John Overend, chief clerk in the bank of Smith, Payne and Company at Nottingham (absorbed into the National Provincial Bank in 1902), with Gurney's Bank (absorbed into Barclays Bank in 1896) supplying the capital. At that time, bill-discounting was carried on in a spasmodic fashion by the ordinary merchant in addition to his regular business, but Richardson considered that there was room for a London house which should devote itself entirely to the trade in bills. This idea, novel at the time, proved an instant success.Samuel Gurney joined the firm in 1807 and took control of Overend, Gurney and Co. in 1809. The Gurneys were a well known Quaker family that had founded Gurney's Bank in Norwich.
The bank's core business was the buying and selling of bills of exchange at a discount. It was well respected, and expanded rapidly, reaching a turnover double its competitors combined. For forty years it was the greatest discounting-house in the world. During the financial crisis of 1825, the firm was able to make short loans to many other bankers. The house indeed became known as "the bankers' banker", and secured many of the previous clients of the Bank of England. Samuel Gurney died in 1856.
After Samuel Gurney's retirement, the bank expanded its investment portfolio, and took on substantial investments in railways and other long-term investments rather than holding short-term cash reserves as was necessary for their role. It found itself with liabilities of around £4 million, and liquid assets of only £1 million. In an effort to recover its liquidity, the business was incorporated as a limited company in July 1865 and sold its £15 shares at a £9 premium, taking advantage of the during the years of 1864–66. However, this period was followed by a rapid collapse in stock and bond prices, accompanied by a tightening of commercial credit. Railway stocks were particularly badly affected.
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