ABSTRACT
The war-time extensions in company activities and the post-war boom of 1919–20 led to a great increase in the number of joint stock companies and in the significance of joint stock capital. The conversion of family concerns into private or public companies progressed in all industries and continued throughout the twenties. The shipbuilding industry had been subject to government regulation during the war and these controls continued into the post-war period because of the over-capacity of the world shipbuilding industry. The ‘anglicisation’ of Scottish industry became a marked feature of this period as Stewarts and Lloyds transferred much of their production to their new plant at Corby and the Scottish railway companies were forcibly merged into the government-regulated LMS and LNER. The level of interlocking within the financial sector increased during the inter-war years, probably as a reflection of changes within the insurance sector.
