Brent Walker was a British company involved in property , gambling , distilled beverages and pubs . It was founded by George Walker , the brother of the boxer Billy Walker .
20-457: In 1991, following the accumulation of debts which had been used to finance acquisitions, George Walker was ousted from the company and its board sold its remaining investments under the supervision of its bankers. Born in London, George Walker career began as a porter at Billingsgate Fish Market . Like his brother, Walker became a boxer of the 1950s. Following his retirement from the ring he undertook
40-546: A 25% stake. Brent Walker sold its interest in Brent Cross to Hammerson in 1976. The films The Stud (1978), The Bitch and Quadrophenia (both 1979) were financed by Brent Walker in the 1970s, through Brent Walker Film Distributors Limited. Video productions of Gilbert & Sullivan operas were produced in the 1980s. In 1979, Brent Walker acquired the Camera Effects post-production and visual effects company which
60-987: A new consolidated site in Dagenham Dock . A formal planning application was made in June 2020, and received outline permission in March 2021. The new consolidated market was expected to become operational in 2027/2028, when the Billingsgate Market site would be available for redevelopment. However, in November 2024, the council announced it did not intend to proceed with these plans as they were no longer economically viable; instead, Billingsgate Fish Market and Smithfield Market would close in or after 2028 with no replacements. 51°30′23″N 0°0′51″W / 51.50639°N 0.01417°W / 51.50639; -0.01417 Fish market Too Many Requests If you report this error to
80-567: A number of business ventures including Dolly's nightclub in London. In 1974, Walker arranged a reverse takeover of Hackney and Hendon Greyhound Company, a stock market listed company, sold his own business interests to it and changed its name to Brent Walker. Using land from the Hendon Greyhound Stadium , Brent Walker entered into a joint venture with Hammerson Estates to develop the Brent Cross Shopping Centre , taking
100-620: A ward in the south-east corner of the City of London , where the riverside market was originally established. In its original location in the 19th century, Billingsgate was the largest fish market in the world. The current market is located off Trafalgar Way in Poplar , east London - at the eastern end of the North Dock of the West India Docks . Billingsgate Wharf, close to Lower Thames Street , became
120-628: The Kursaal amusement park in Southend in 1988. The local authority stepped in to take over this dilapidated property in the 1990s. The London Trocadero , a property in London's West End originally built as a restaurant, was acquired in 1987 as a joint venture with Robin Power, an Irish developer. Brent Walker sold its interest to Power in 1991 at a substantial loss. Elstree Studios , Borehamwood were acquired in 1988. Brent Walker obtained planning permission for
140-563: The 1930s, as did the Kray twins in the 1950s. In 1982, the fish market was relocated to a new 13-acre (53,000 m ) building complex on the Isle of Dogs in Poplar , close to Canary Wharf and Blackwall . The freehold owner of the site is the London Borough of Tower Hamlets , but the City of London Corporation still runs the market; they pay an annual ground rent stipulated in an agreement between
160-523: The area of the old, incorporating Billingsgate Stairs and Wharf and Darkhouse Lane. Work began in 1874, and the new market was opened by the Lord Mayor on 20 July 1877. The new buildings , Italianate in style, had on their long frontages towards Thames Street the river, a pedimented centre and continuous arcade, flanked at each end by a pavilion tavern. The general market, on a level with Thames Street, had an area of about 30,000 square feet (2,800 m ), and
180-472: The centre of a fish market during the 16th and 17th centuries but did not become formally established until the Billingsgate, etc. Act 1698 ( 10 Will. 3 . c. 13). In 1850, the market, according to Horace Jones, "consisted only of shed buildings ... The open space on the north of the well-remembered Billingsgate Dock was dotted with low booths and sheds, with a range of wooden houses with a piazza in front on
200-567: The company in financial difficulties. George Walker was ousted from the Board in 1991 and the group's bankers took control, enforcing a process of sale of the company's assets. Following the sale of William Hill in 1997, the company was removed from the stock exchange and wound up. In 1994, the Serious Fraud Office brought a case against George Walker and Brent Walker's former finance director Wilfred Aquilina, accusing them of inflating profits at
220-608: The construction of a Tesco supermarket on the backlot and the studios fell out of use. Faced with a potential compulsory purchase, Brent Walker sold the remaining property to Hertsmere Council in 1996. The Cameron and Tolly Cobbold Breweries were acquired from Ellerman Investments, a company owned by the Barclay brothers , in 1988 for £240m. The company closed Tolly Cobbold's Cliff Brewery in Ipswich in 1989 and transferred production to Cameron's Hartlepool brewery. The Hartlepool brewery
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#1732870090880240-462: The distilled beverage company Whyte & Mackay . The company was sold to American Brands (later called Fortune Brands) in 1990. The William Hill chain of betting shops and Mecca Bookmakers, were acquired from Grand Metropolitan in 1989 for £685 million. In 1997 William Hill was sold to Nomura for £700m. Brent Walker accumulated debts of £1.2bn by 1991 with debt-financed acquisitions. A collapse in property prices and high interest rates placed
260-504: The film division by £19.3m in an effort to lure investors. After a four and a half month trial costing an estimated £40m, Walker was cleared of all charges, while Aquilina was convicted of false accounting, sentenced to 18 months imprisonment suspended for two years, and fined £25,000. Billingsgate Fish Market Billingsgate Fish Market is the United Kingdom's largest inland fish market . It takes its name from Billingsgate ,
280-626: The market via the Great Eastern Railway . The infamously coarse language of London fishmongers made "Billingsgate" a byword for crude or vulgar language. One of its earliest uses can be seen in a 1577 chronicle by Raphael Holinshed , where the writer makes reference to the foul tongues of Billingsgate oyster-wives. The market is depicted during Tudor times in Rosemary Sutcliff 's 1951 children's historical novel The Armourer's House . The writer George Orwell worked at Billingsgate in
300-634: The market were licensed fish porters. The role dates back at least to Henry VIII , and was officially recognised by the Corporation of London in 1632. In 2012, a bitter battle was fought between modernisers and traditionalists. The modernisers won and the role of the porters ended. In early 2019, the City of London Corporation's main decision-making body, the Court of Common Council, proposed that Billingsgate, New Spitalfields Market and Smithfield Market should move to
320-423: The two councils as "the gift of one fish". Most of the fish sold through the market now arrives there by road, from ports as far afield as Aberdeen and Cornwall . Billingsgate Market is open from Tuesday to Saturday. Trading commences at 4 a.m. and finishes at 8:30 a.m. Security for the market is provided by the private Market Constabulary . Traditionally, the only people allowed to move fish around
340-483: The west, which served the salesmen and fishmongers as shelter, and for the purposes of carrying on their trade." In that year the market was rebuilt to a design by J. B. Bunning , the City architect. Bunning's building was soon found to be insufficient for the increased trade, and in 1872 the Corporation obtained an Act to rebuild and enlarge the market, which was done to plans by Bunning's successor as City architect Sir Horace Jones . The new site covered almost twice
360-417: Was covered with louvre glass roofs, 43 feet (13 m) high at the ridge. A gallery 30 feet (9.1 m) wide was allocated to the sale of dried fish, while the basement served as a market for shellfish. Electric lighting was also furnished in November 1878 via 16 Jablochkoff Candles . The opening of the railways changed the nature of the trade, and by the late nineteenth century most of the fish arrived at
380-486: Was sold to Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries in 1992. Pubmaster was formed by Brent Walker as an estate of mainly tenanted pub properties including 386 Grand Metropolitan pubs acquired in 1988 and 800 pubs acquired with the Cameron and Tolly Cobbold breweries. Pubmaster was sold in November 1996 to Silverfleet Capital Limited, a private equity group. At the time it comprised 1600 pubs. In 1988, Brent Walker purchased
400-581: Was sold to Rank Organisation in 1981. In 1987, the company acquired Goldcrest Films for £5 million, through the Masterman joint venture with the Ensign Trust. Later that year, it bought a 27% stake in troubled television production company Trillion for £12 million, and bought out shares from Charterhall, the European investor company. Brent Walker operated Southend Pier between 1986 and 1988. It also acquired
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