Company name: Scottish & Universal Investments Ltd
Dates in business: fl1947-1978

Type of business: Investment company

Type of company: Private limited liability company fl1947

Type of company: Public limited liability company 1960

Locations:

• 175 West George Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Company history

Scottish & Universal Investments Ltd (SUITS) was a holding company used by Sir Hugh Fraser in return for a 30 percent stake in the House of Fraser department store chain. It was converted into a public company in January 1960 with the sale of £2million worth of shares. Shortly afterwards, SUITS won control of the borders knitwear firms of D. Dallantyne Brothers of Peebles, Braemar Knitwear and Turner Rutherford, with the object of promoting their branded goods in House of Fraser.

During the 1970s, Sir Hugh Fraser began to sell off shares in SUITS, with the sale of his final shares completed in 1976 with their purchase by then friend Roland "Tiny" Rowland, a German citizen born in India, who was behind the South African Lonrho conglomerate. Sir Fraser, who received £7 million from the sale, had agreed to the sale in part because he believed Rowland's promise that the purchase was to remain a simple investment. Yet Rowland's real interest was quickly revealed to be the House of Fraser, specifically its Harrods department store.

Access points: Investment trusts