Allen Brothers Enters Third Generation of Family Ownership

Richard (Managing Director) and Lindsay Allen (Director) take Allen Brothers into third generation of family ownership © Allen Brothers

Allen Brothers (Fittings) Ltd has entered its third generation of family ownership, with Richard Allen taking over as Managing Director. Richard's mother, Lindsay Allen, will remain with the company as Director, continuing to support the business as it moves into its next chapter.

The change follows the retirement of Liz Adams, who has stepped down as Managing Director after many years leading the company. Liz, Tony Allen's daughter, took over the running of Allen Brothers and played an important role in developing the company into the international business it is today.

Graham Adams, who has also been with the company for many years as International Sales Manager, has retired from Allen Brothers.

Allen Brothers would like to thank Liz and Graham for their contribution to the company over the years. Their work has played an important role in shaping the business and building the foundations for the next generation.

Continuing the Allen Brothers approach

Richard represents the third generation of the Allen family to lead the company, following his grandfather Glenn Allen, who founded Allen Brothers with his brother Tony in 1956 and then his father Kim Allen, who sadly passed away in 2015.

Under Richard's leadership, the company will continue to focus on engineering, manufacturing and developing high-performance sailing hardware from its factory in Southminster, Essex.

"It's a great opportunity to take Allen Brothers into its third generation," said Richard Allen, Managing Director of Allen Brothers.

"My grandfather started the company by making fittings for his own race boats, and that approach of solving problems and making better hardware is still very much part of what we do today.

"We want to continue where he left off, investing in engineering, manufacturing and product development to produce the best performance sailing hardware we can. We have a great team here at Allen, and we'll continue to build on what has already been achieved while looking at where we can improve and develop."

The company will remain family owned, with its manufacturing operations continuing from its factory in Southminster.

From a garden shed to a global business

Allen Brothers was founded by brothers Tony and Glenn Allen in the 1950s. Driven by their passion for sailing, engineering and innovation, they began producing fittings for their own race boats in their garden shed.

The fittings proved to be an improvement on the hardware available at the time, and demand quickly grew from other sailors. In 1956, Tony and Glenn registered Allen Brothers (Fittings) Ltd with a vision of producing performance sailing hardware.

More than 70 years later, the company continues to manufacture its products from its factory in Southminster, Essex, exporting high-performance sailing hardware to customers around the world.

Over the years, Allen Brothers has continued to invest in its engineering and manufacturing capabilities. Computer-aided design, 3D printing, CNC machining, turning, moulding and hydraulic pressing allow the company to manufacture both its established range of sailing hardware and custom components for boat builders and other industries.

Allen hardware is now used by boat builders, sailing teams and sailors around the world.

The change in ownership marks the beginning of the next generation for Allen Brothers, while maintaining the company's focus on British manufacturing, engineering and the development of high-performance sailing hardware.

www.allenbrothers.co.uk