ABSTRACT
A successful manufacturer who wants to retire from business finds it very convenient to sell his concern to a limited liability company, and in order to make the flotation larger and more attractive, the concerns of several other, usually less successful, rivals are often added. The West Riding of Yorkshire has been productive ground for combinations since the year 1898, especially in the cloth manufacturing district of which Bradford is the centre. Combination was in time applied to many branches of the cloth industry, using that term to cover all the many trades by which a fleece of wool is handled before it is cloth ready for the tailor. The method of combination was the same in all cases — the freehold or leasehold of the different works in the branch of trade, with their plant, stock, and goodwill, was bought out and out by the combination, and floated as one limited liability company.
