BusinessFinancing study identifies Derry Journal as 16th oldest company in UK

BusinessFinancing.co.uk recently decided to take a look at the longest-running, continually operating businesses across the United Kingdom.

The Derry Journal which was founded in 1772 and celebrates its 250th birthday next year was declared the 16th oldest company in the UK.

BusinessFinancing.co.uk researched the oldest business in each city to reveal which have really stood the test of time using sources such as Companies House, city location guides, local authorities, historical societies, and chambers of commerce.

In cases where a business was bought out, they included said business if there was a reasonable degree of continuity. For merged businesses, the team used the date of the oldest business. Any data which lacked a reasonable degree of certainty was excluded from the final article. The full data can be viewed here: bit.ly/TheOldestCompanyIn58UKCities

According to BusinessFinancing the UK’s oldest company is Aberdeen Harbour Board in Aberdeen, Scotland, founded in 1136; England’s oldest company is Trinity House, founded in London in 1514; Monmouthshire Building Society was founded in 1869 and is the longest-running company in Wales; and The Derry Journal newspaper, founded in 1772, remains Northern Ireland’s oldest business.

The authors of the study state: "The Derry Journal is the second oldest newspaper in existence in Ireland, and it is the only mainstream newspaper to have been banned on both sides of the border."

More information on the research is available at https://businessfinancing.co.uk/oldest-uk-companies/