The Blandy family celebrates 200 years on Madeira
The Blandy family of Madeira is celebrating the 200th anniversary of the founding of the family firm this year.
To commemorate this achievement, UK publisher Francis Lincoln has published The Blandys of Madeira, which documents the remarkable journey the family has made from 1811 to 2011, written by journalist historian Marcus Binney.
Michael Blandy, current chairman of the Group, and is the sixth generation of the family to run the company founded in 1811 by John Blandy.
The Blandy Group, famed for Madeira wine, is a testament to the value strong family ties can bring to business. The strong family commitment has been further emphasized and Michael’s cousin Chris Blandy is now a director of the group and this shows the seventh generation’s ongoing interest in the business. Through all these successive generations, members of the Blandy family have successfully developed, sold, maintained and created new business enterprises and in this way assured the future of the family business.
The group has restructured several times during the last 200 years and on the 31st of May 2011, Blandy’s announced that agreement has been reached with the Symington family for Blandy’s to regain control of the Madeira Wine Company (producer of the renowned Blandy’s, Cossart Gordon, Leacock and Miles Madeiras, amongst other historic names), re-affirming their commitment to the business that started the group’s development on the island.
The portfolio of businesses owned, developed and run by the family has evolved - from coal and shipping to newspapers, hotels, and travel. Today the group has consolidated its interests to maintain meaningful and profitable businesses on the island (travel & shipping, Madeira wine, media, and other investments, whilst continuing to expand nationally and internationally through their hotel investments, in Porto Bay Hotels and Inspira Hotels.
Blandy family members also have a number of personal business interests in Madeira, which are run independently from the Group, including the Palheiro Estate, which has been developed by family members from an early 19th century hunting lodge to its current world renowned status as a luxury second home and five-star holiday destination.
Michael Blandy, comments:
“My family and I are delighted to be celebrating the 200th year anniversary of the Blandy family business. It is very special to us that the company has remained a family run endeavour. But success of the past is no guarantee for business achievement in the future. We are proud of our heritage and the way change has been managed which in part is a result of the family commitment to the business but also because of the large numbers of non family members, be they directors or others who have dedicated much to what has been accomplished.”
He adds:
“Our greatest achievement has been adapting our business and making it more relevant to market conditions in every generation, whilst remaining true to the Blandy heritage. We strive to exceed the expectations of our stakeholders and we are excited with the future before us”.
For more information on property at Palheiro, visit: palheiroestate.com
