Willis has an illustrious history. Its origins lie in the early 19th century with the founding in London of three firms, Henry Willis & Co, Faber Brothers, and Dumas & Wylie, the first two of which merged in 1897 to form Willis, Faber & Co. When that firm was joined by Dumas & Wylie, in 1928, the famous name of Willis, Faber & Dumas Limited came into being.
R A Corroon & Co. Inc., was established in New York in 1905. In 1966 it merged with C R Black Jr Corporation. Of a great many subsequent amalgamations the most significant was with Synercon Corporation, of Nashville, in 1976.
In mid-1998 the Group's shareholders accepted an offer from the leveraged buy-out specialists Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. Consequently the Group, which had been publicly quoted since 1976, reverted to being a private company. In 1999, the Group's operations amalgamated under one name Willis Group Limited.
Key dates in our history:
- 1828 Henry Willis & Co. established
- 1843 Dumas & Wylie established
- 1886 Faber Brothers established
- 1898 Willis, Faber & Co. formed by merger
- 1905 R.A. Corroon & Co. established
- 1928 Willis Faber & Dumas formed by merger
- 1966 Corroon & Black Corp. formed by merger
- 1976 Willis Faber listed on stock exchange
- 1990 Willis Corroon Group formed by merger
- 1998 Willis Corroon Group acquired by Trinity Acquisition
- 1999 The Group's operations are amalgamated under one name: Willis Group
- 2001 Willis Group Limited listed on the New York Stock Exchange