Sir Owen Cosby Philipps
| Owen Philipps, 1st Baron Kylsant | |
|---|---|
Baron Kylsant, picture taken in the 1920s
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| Born |
Owen Cosby Philipps 25 March 1863 Warminster, Wiltshire |
| Died | 5 June 1937 (aged 74) Llangynog, Carmarthenshire |
| Known for | Business man, politician |
| Title | Baron Kylsant of Carmarthen in the County of Carmarthen and of Amroth in the County of Pembroke |
| Political party |
Liberal Member of Parliament (1906–1910) Conservative Member of Parliament (1916–1922) |
| Board member of | Chairman and Chief Executive of Royal Mail Steam Packet Company |
| Criminal charge | Publishing a document with intent to induce a person to advance property (section 84 Larceny Act 1861) |
| Criminal penalty | Twelve months' imprisonment |
| Spouse(s) | Mai Alice Magdalene Morris (1902–1937) |
| Children | Three daughters |
| Awards |
KCMG (1909) KStJ (1926) GCMG (1918) |
Owen Cosby Philipps, 1st Baron Kylsant (25 March 1863 – 5 June 1937) was a British businessman and politician, jailed in 1931 for producing a document with intent to deceive.
Philipps was the third of five sons of the Reverend Sir James Erasmus Philipps, 12th Baronet, of Picton Castle, and his wife the Hon. Mary, daughter of The Hon. Reverend Samuel Best. Born in Warminster vicarage, Wiltshire, and educated at Newton College, Newton Abbott, Devon, he became an apprentice with a Newcastle upon Tyne shipping firm, Dent & Co, in 1880 and upon completion of his apprenticeship he moved to the Glasgow shipping firm Allan & Gow in 1886.
With financial assistance from his eldest brother John Philipps, 1st Viscount St Davids Philipps set up his own shipping firm Philipps & Co in 1888, bought his first ship in 1889 and by the end of the nineteenth century the two brothers owned two shipping lines (King Line Ltd and the Scottish Steamship Company), a finance company (the London Maritime Investment Company), and the London and Thames Haven Petroleum Wharf. Taking advantage of a low share price, the brothers acquired shares in the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, and by 1902 Owen had become chairman and managing director of the line. Over the next twenty years he and the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company acquired a controlling interest in more than twenty other companies, including the Union-Castle Line and the Pacific Steam Navigation Company. Acquisitions continued, culminating in the purchase of the White Star in 1927.
Philipps was also a Member of Parliament until 1922. In 1923 he was created a peer as Baron Kylsant, which gave him a seat in the House of Lords.
Kylsant gained a reputation for acting unilaterally and , without consulting other board members. At the same time, the complex share structure of the companies within the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company group allowed him to continue his control of the group while hiding trading losses in individual firms by moving reserves around. In 1924 Kylsant also became chairman of Harland and Wolff, the Belfast shipbuilders.
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