Download PDF - Cox & Kings

Over 250 Years of Discovery2008 marked the 250th anniversary of the foundation of Cox & Kings,the longest established travel company in the world.The company’s history stretches back to May 25, 1758 when Richard Coxwas appointed as regimental agent to the Foot Guards by his mentor,Lord Ligonier, the Commanding Officer of His Majesty’s Armed Forces.Regimental agents did not have a very good reputation before Cox,but such was his honesty, reliability and organisational ability that hemade it a respectable business and Cox & Co soon became the agentfor the majority of British regiments. By the end of the 18th centurythe company became involved in banking and shipping in addition to itsother agency activities.In the late 19th century, Henry S. King & Co was a rival bank and shippingagency, started by Henry Samuel King in 1868 and subsequently runfor over 45 years by his son, Henry Seymour King. The company hadparticularly strong links with India. After the First World War the twocompanies merged as Cox’s & King’s and moved into grand premises onPall Mall (now the site of the Sofitel St James Hotel). In 1923 the businesswas sold to Lloyds Bank and while the banking arm stayed with Lloyds(becoming the Cox & Kings branch, as it is still known), the shippingagency became a separate company.In 1970, Cox & Kings Agency was bought by Grindlays Bank and so themodern history of the company began.Cox & Kings has built on the tradition of high quality service andattention to detail established by Richard Cox over 250 years ago andit now provides travel arrangements of the highest caliber in many ofthe most culturally and naturally fascinating parts of the world. Ourexpertise covers India & Beyond, Portrait of Latin America, Africa & theIndian Ocean, Arabia, North Africa & Central Asia, Asia & the Pacific,European Journeys and Australia & New Zealand.