History & Timeline
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1938
S&U Stores plc Founded
S&U Stores plc was founded in Birmingham in 1938 by Clifford Coombs and our first premises opened in July 1938 in Corporation Street.
Edgbaston Street Store
In September 1938 the original
Edgbaston Street store opened.
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1947
S&U Stores plc Founded
The First Branch Shrewsbury
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1951
First Annual Outing To Paris
30th May 1951 saw the first annual staff outing to
Paris from Elmdon airport.
Solitaire Furniture Founded
Solitaire Furniture Limited opened in March 1951 in
Pershore Street, Birmingham.
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1958
New Edgbaston
Street StoreOn May 16th 1958 our new store in Edgbaston Street opened,
costing over a quarter of a million pounds - 118 feet tall with an 82 feet frontage.
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1959
Spotlight On Fashion
In September 1959 our first Autumn Fashion Parade was held in our Edgbaston Street Restaurant.
Staff Superannuation Scheme
In 1959 our staff superannuation scheme starts.
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1961
Floated On Stock Exchange
In 1961 S&U plc is floated on the London stock exchange.
Swallow Raincoats
During the 1960's S&U plc expands into raincoats.
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1975
Home Credit Loans
S&U plc moves away from stores and manufacturing to concentrate on home credit loans.
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1992
Home Credit Loans Acquisition
In 1992 S&U plc expands by acquiring Wilson Tupholme.
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1999
Advantage Finance Founded
Advantage Finance was founded in 1999 and has grown to become
one of the UK's leading providers of specialist motor finance products.
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2011
In-House Systems
Advantage Finance start to leverage their superb in-house systems and introducer
relationships to take advantage of post credit crunch market.
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2013
Profits Of Over £14m
S&U plc record group profits of over £14m and declare largest dividend of over £5m.
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2015
Home Credit Sold
In 2015 Home Credit Loans business is sold for £82.5m.
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2017
Aspen Bridging Launched
Launched in 2017 Aspen Bridging is a specialist provider of property bridging finance for individuals and business borrowers.
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2022
Group Profit Before Tax of over £47m
Fantastic achievement by our loyal people with our businesses showing great resilience as the world starts to emerge from the global pandemic.
