An ambitious project to map out the existing records of the 100-oldest Scottish companies still registered with Companies House begins this month.

The project by The Business Archives Council of Scotland (BACS) and Glasgow University Archives Services (GUAS) aims to make the records more accessible and celebrates 150 years of the modern limited liability company and the richness of Scottish business heritage.

These oldest companies range from large multinationals to small local industry, from banks to golf clubs, from hotels to brick-makers, and represent the full spectrum of Scottish business and community enterprise.

Lesley Richmond, Director of Archive Services at the University of Glasgow, said: “The limited company arrangement has allowed Scottish businesses and community groups to flourish and grow beyond the lives of their founders, and become important entities in Scottish life in their own right.

“The records of these Scottish companies are a valuable resource. They provide their owners with an extensive memory bank of expertise and know-how, and provide a link between the business and its clients through their shared past.”

Sir Stewart Rose, former CEO of Marks and Spencer, has said that “businesses can learn so much from their pasts that is relevant to today’s consumer”, and has described business archives as “a secret commercial weapon” for established companies.

The aim of this project is to produce an online resource that will detail the records of historical value created by the hundred companies, including a history of company achievement and agreed access points for interested users and researchers.

The overall purpose is to make the most of all the collections discovered, and unlock the hidden value and potential that may have been forgotten.

Over the course of the project the BACS Surveying Officer will also offer advice and guidance to those companies that may not have implemented a records management strategy, and survey any previously undiscovered collections of records. Examples of what can be achieved will be posted on the BACS blog and the project wiki.
However, company archives are also vital in telling the story of how Scotland has developed into the country it is today.

Ms Richmond added: “Every history of Glasgow would focus on skilled labour and design flair, and no heritage group in the Borders could ignore the impact of textile mills in the area.”

The Scottish Business archive at GUAS currently looks after many important collections of business records dating from the eighteenth century to the twentieth century. However without this care and attention contemporary collections are at risk of going to waste, mouldering in attics, or lurking in incompatible formats on hard-drives. These archives are part of the community memory, and the loss of these records is also a loss of national heritage.

Contemporary collections can also be of real use to businesses that hold them. Currently 20% of FTSE 100 companies employ professional archivists to exploit their records, using them to increase brand knowledge and awareness, as a source of new product innovation, to provide information for business continuity, and as a legal resource to guard against copyright infringement and protect their owners against litigation. 

For more information contact David Luck, Business Archives Council of Scotland (BACS) Surveying Officer on 0141 330 4159 or David.Luck@glasgow.ac.uk or Stuart Forsyth in the University of Glasgow Media Relations Office on 0141 330 4831 or email Stuart.Forsyth@glasgow.ac.uk

Contacts and Further information

The Business Archives Council of Scotland (BACS)  - www.gla.ac.uk/archives/bacs/ 
BACS blog - www.businessarchivesscotland.blogspot.com
Project wiki - http://oldestscottishcompanies.wikispaces.com/
Scottish Business Archive - www.gla.ac.uk/archives/collections/scottishbusinessarchives
A National Strategy for Business Archives in Scotland -
www.scoarch.org.uk/what-we-do/businessarchives

Notes to Editors

Since it was founded in 1856 more than 230,000 companies have registered with Companies House, Edinburgh. The mandatory records of the company will be stored by the National Archives of Scotland when the company dissolves, and some of the other collections may eventually find their way into the Scottish Business Archive, or other local archives. However in the last financial year 861 Scottish companies were forced to declare themselves insolvent, and 509 companies across the UK were dissolved, many leaving little trace of their history or activities.

Natalie Ceeney, Chief Executive of the National Archive, has described business archives as ‘a truly essential part of our country's commercial history. They are also clear proof to present and future entrepreneurs of the importance and value of information management.' Many high profile Scottish companies are aware of the value of their heritage, and have used it to market their products. Tennent’s have celebrated their 125th anniversary by producing an advertising campaign based upon the exploits of Hugh Tennent, the company’s founder, in June.  Companies such as HBOS, RBS and Diageo have extensive and well regarded archives. Recently records held by the Royal Bank of Scotland Group Archives relating to the ill-fated Darien scheme were inscribed onto the UNESCO new UK Memory of the World Register. In addition to records held by Scottish businesses, there are also over 3255 company archives held by public bodies in Scotland, many in the Scottish Business Archive kept at Glasgow University Archive Service.

The start of this project coincides with the launch on 20th January 2011 of the National Strategy for Business Archives in Scotland, a strategy driven by the University of Glasgow, the National Archives of Scotland, the Ballast Trust and the Business Archive Council for Scotland. The aim of this strategy is to help businesses effectively promote, manage and exploit their archives and records, and thus ensure that business records are valued in both the business and heritage sectors. In the long-term this strategy will help preserve and secure these important records of Scottish heritage.

First published: 18 January 2011

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