Farrow & Ball

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Farrow & Ball Limited
FormerlyFarrow & Ball (Southern) Limited[1]
TypePrivate limited company
Founded
  • 1946; 75 years ago (1946)[2]
  • Incorporated January 18, 1971; 50 years ago (1971-01-18)[3]
Founders
Headquarters
Wimborne, Dorset
,
United Kingdom
Number of locations
  • 45 company-operated stores[2]
  • 1,491 third-party stockist locations[2]
 (29 March 2020)
Products
£16,030,000[5] (2019/2020)
Total assets£95,295,000[5] (29 March 2020)
OwnerAres Corporate Opportunities Fund IV, L.P.[6]
Number of employees
550[7] (2019/2020)
ParentAres FB Holdings (Luxembourg) S.á.r.l.[6]
Websitefarrow-ball.com
Farrow & Ball paint

Farrow & Ball is a British manufacturer of paints and wallpapers largely based upon historic colour palettes and archives. The company is particularly well-known for the unusual names of its products.[8]

History[]

The company was started by John Farrow and Richard Maurice Ball in 1946 in Wimborne Minster, Dorset. Both Farrow and Ball had previously been chemists.[9][10][11]

The company has worked with the National Trust in formulating near-exact matches of colours used in the restoration of historic building interiors and exteriors,[12] The company maintains an updated colour card of 132 colours,[13] as well as producing wallpaper patterns made using traditional block, trough and roller methods with the company's own paint.[14]

Ownership[]

In 2006, American Capital subsidiary European Capital Limited purchased Farrow & Ball for approximately £80 million by way of a management buyout.[15][16] Until its sale to European Capital Limited, Farrow & Ball remained a family business.[9] In 2014, Ares Management bought Farrow & Ball from European Capital Limited for £275 million.[17][18] In October 2020, Bloomberg reported that Ares Management was considering a potential sale of Farrow & Ball.[19] In May 2021, the Financial Times reported that Danish coatings manufacturer Hempel had agreed to purchase Farrow & Ball from Ares Management for approximately £500 million.[20] The sale is expected to complete in the second half of 2021.[21][needs update]

Showrooms and stockists[]

The company has 63 showrooms[22] across the UK, US, Canada and Europe, as well as a global network of stockists carrying both paint and wallpaper.

Among the company's partners are interior designer , who created a shade of white paint reviewed by the New Yorker.[23][24][25]

Books[]

Farrow & Ball has produced several books; the British National Bibliography contains the following records:

  • Paint and Colour in Decoration (2003)[26][27]
  • Farrow & Ball The Art of Colour (2007)[28][29]
  • Farrow & Ball Living with Colour (2010)[30][31]
  • Farrow & Ball Decorating with Colour (2013)[32]
  • Farrow & Ball How to Decorate (2016)[33]
  • Farrow & Ball Recipes for Decorating (2019)[34]

In popular culture[]

Farrow & Ball has been lampooned in the US for its expense and preparation requirements on NBC's Saturday Night Live.[35]

References[]

  1. ^ "Farrow & Ball Limited". Companies House. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Farrow & Ball Report and financial statements for the 52 week period ended 29 March 2020" (PDF). Companies House. 30 July 2020. p. 1. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  3. ^ "Certificate of Incorporation for Farrow & Ball (Southern) Limited" (PDF). Companies House. 18 January 1971. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b "Our History". Farrow & Ball. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b "Farrow & Ball Report and financial statements for the 52 week period ended 29 March 2020" (PDF). Companies House. 30 July 2020. p. 11. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b "Farrow & Ball Report and financial statements for the 52 week period ended 29 March 2020" (PDF). Companies House. 30 July 2020. p. 26. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  7. ^ "Farrow & Ball Report and financial statements for the 52 week period ended 29 March 2020" (PDF). Companies House. 30 July 2020. p. 18. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  8. ^ http://karenhaller.co.uk/blog/branding-colour-how-paint-companies-personalities-shines-through-their-paint-colour-names/
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b Gordon, Ollie (16 November 2014). "US investment firm Ares Management bids for Farrow & Ball in £300m deal". CityAM. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  10. ^ Expedite, BT. "Our History | Farrow & Ball". www.farrow-ball.com. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
  11. ^ "Farrow & Ball Traditional Papers & Paint - Wimborne White". Farrow & Ball. Retrieved 25 June 2009.
  12. ^ https://www.latimes.com/features/printedition/home/la-hm-wallpaper14apr14,1,3351908.story?coll=la-home-printedition
  13. ^ [1]
  14. ^ [2]
  15. ^ Barbaglia, Pamela; Berry, Freya (23 October 2014). "Four funds vie for $400 million luxury paintmaker Farrow & Ball: sources". Reuters. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  16. ^ "Farrow & Ball". www.bvca.co.uk. British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  17. ^ Godfrey, Hannah (11 May 2021). "Posh paint brand Farrow & Ball bought by Danish company in €500m deal". CityAM. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  18. ^ "Ares Management Private Equity Fund to Acquire Farrow & Ball". www.businesswire.com. 1 December 2014. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  19. ^ Noel, Andrew M.; Porter, Kiel; Balezou, Myriam (22 October 2020). "Ares Weighs Sale of Iconic Paint Maker Farrow & Ball". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  20. ^ Wiggins, Kaye (11 May 2021). "Farrow & Ball sold to Danish paint group Hempel in £500m deal". Financial Times. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  21. ^ "Ares Management To Sell Farrow & Ball To Hempel Group - Quick Facts". www.nasdaq.com. 11 May 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  22. ^ http://www.farrow-ball.com/view-showrooms-list/content/fcp-content
  23. ^ Marx, Patricia. "Does the Paint World Need Another White?". The New Yorker. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  24. ^ Mead, Rebecca. "The Luxury Paint Company Creating a New Kind of Decorating Anxiety". The New Yorker. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  25. ^ Lesser, Casey (30 January 2019). "The Artist-Turned-Color Expert Who Made the Perfect White Paint". Artsy. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  26. ^ Friedman, Joseph. Paint and Color in Decoration. Rizzoli New York: 2003. ISBN 0-8478-2593-0.
  27. ^ "Paint and colour in decoration / Farrow & Ball". British Library. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  28. ^ Coleman, Brian D. Farrow & Ball The Art of Colour. Gibbs Smith Layton, Utah: 2007. ISBN 978-1-4236-0010-7
  29. ^ "Farrow and Ball: the Art of Color / Brian Coleman; photographs by Edward Addeo". British Library. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  30. ^ Byam Shaw, Ros. Living with Colour. Ryland Peters & Small New York/London: 2010. ISBN 978-1-84975-038-7
  31. ^ "Farrow & Ball Living with Colour / Ros Byam Shaw; photography by Jan Baldwin". British Library. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  32. ^ "Farrow&Ball decorating with colour / Ros Byam Shaw; photography by Jan Baldwin". British Library. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  33. ^ "Farrow & Ball How to Decorate: Transform your home with paint & paper / Joa Studholme, Charlotte Cosby". British Library. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  34. ^ "Farrow & Ball recipes for decorating / Joa Studholme". British Library. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  35. ^ "New Paint". National Broadcasting Corporation. 2 November 2019. Retrieved 26 November 2020.

Bibliography[]

Friedman, Joseph. Paint and Color in Decoration. Rizzoli New York: 2003. ISBN 0-8478-2593-0.

External links[]

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