John Laing plc

Laing is an innovative company that is embracing the opportunities presented in our rapidly changing world: yet it is one that can do this with the benefit of over 150 years of experience. Our aim is to give our customers a service which spans the entire development, management, and operation of infrastructure, housing, and other accommodation. A service which is second to none. Recognized for the quality of our products and services, we are constantly developing and investing in new skills and systems to support their continuous improvement. James Laing and his wife Ann build and sell their first house. The company begins constructing aerodromes as part of the war effort during World War II. The firm goes public under the name John Laing & Sons (Holdings) Ltd. With over 150 years of experience under its belt, John Laing plc operates with two main divisions--the Laing Homes Group and Laing Investments. The Home unit constructs a wide range of residential housing in the United Kingdom as well as in the United States through WL Homes LLC. Laing constructs nearly 1,300 units per year, from simple one-bedroom apartments to £1 million luxury homes. Through its Investments arm, Laing deals with infrastructure projects related to the transportation, health and education, defense, and utilities industries. The company provides development, financing, construction, and service operation through this segment. During the early years of the new century, the company made significant changes to its operations by selling off both its Construction and Property divisions, along with a portion of its stake in WL Homes. In 2002, Sir Martin Laing--fifth-generation descendant of David Laing--retired, leaving Bill Forrester as executive chairman. After building his first house, David Laing worked in the village repairing the church, digging wells, and engaging in other small jobs to maintain his livelihood. His eldest son, James, born in 1816, joined him upon finishing school. It appears that James Laing would have been content to carry on as a repairman and minor builder like his father, but his marriage in 1841 to Ann Graham, who had her eyes on the future, changed James Laing's life. She convinced him to hire permanent employees and buy a plot of land for £20. In his spare time, Laing built a house on the plot; Ann helped by leading a team of their children in hauling rocks up the hill from a river bed. He finished the house in 1848 and sold it the same year, thus giving birth to the Laing construction firm. The £150 proceeds from that first sale financed construction of two more houses on the same piece of land. James and Ann raised their family in one of the houses and sold the other. It is uncertain why in 1867 James sold everything and moved the family to Carlisle, where he worked as a laborer until he managed to start another business of his own. Again, the eldest son joined his father in business; John Laing, born in 1842, worked as a stonecarver for his father. When James Laing died in 1882, John Laing took over the business and began to procure larger contracts for public projects such as the Carlisle electricity works and repairs on the local castle. Under John Laing, the business began to produce its own building materials. Laborers dug clay, made bricks by hand, and fired them in a kiln on the construction site. The business remained relatively small and confined to the Carlisle area until the fourth Laing took over. John Laing's son John William Laing, born in 1879, was active in the business before he was 20 years old, so active that the firm changed its name to John Laing and Son. Ann Laing, by now quite advanced in age and feeling that her family was suitably established, wanted her grandson to go into a more genteel field than construction. Unaware that the young man was a budding construction tycoon, she tried to keep him out of the business. In a peculiar reversal of the norm, John William Laing rebelled against his gra