Early History

Many of the companies that were eventually to become part of the Inchcape Group can trace their roots back to merchant partnerships founded in the 18th and 19th centuries in the Persian Gulf, East Africa, India, China, Hong Kong and Japan.

The Inchcape Group was largely built by James Lyle Mackay, who was born in 1852 to prosperous Scottish ship owner. When Mackay was 12, his father died, leaving him substantial independent means. Mackay turned to a career in shipping and overseas trade, but was disenchanted by the lack of commercial opportunities in Scotland.

In 1874 he went to India to work as a clerk with a Scottish firm of traders and shipping agents. This company was engaged in a number of diverse business activities - from trading tea, sugar and textiles to insurance and banking - and eventually he ended up at the helm of the organisation.

It was Mackay’s grandson, the third Lord Inchcape, who rationalised the widespread family businesses into a series of complementary activities, and brought them together within one holding company. That company, Inchcape & Co Limited, was the forerunner of the present Inchcape Group and it was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1958.

At the end of the 1990’s the Group became focused purely on the automotive industry. This decision paved the way to Inchcape’s position as one of the leading vehicle distribution and retailing companies in the world today.