John Keells PLC (JKL) is your alliance to success through our core business in Tea and Rubber Broking, including the Warehousing of these produce, whilst our Real Estate activities include the renting of office space. Our pre-eminent position as Sri Lanka’s leading Tea and Rubber broker with the largest state-of-the-art warehousing complex is a catalyst for our effective leverage to the future.
The Holding Company, John Keells Holdings (JKH); commenced business as a produce and exchange broker in the early 1870s and has grown to become Sri Lanka’s premier listed conglomerate, housing diverse businesses in the food & beverage, leisure, transportation & infrastructure, plantations, information technology and financial services sectors. JKH is widely perceived as a benchmark of the Sri Lankan economy and is also the single largest market-capitalised company on the Colombo Stock Exchange, a position we have enjoyed for the past five years.
JKH was the only Sri Lankan Company to have been selected amongst the world’s best 200 small companies by Forbes Global magazine, in 2001. In addition to being the sole Sri Lankan full member of the World Economic Forum, we are also the only Sri Lankan Company to have had a GDR issue. JKH has been assigned a SL AA+ credit rating from Fitch Ratings Lanka. For more information on JKH, please go to “www.keells.com”
Edwin John came to Ceylon, as the Island was then called, to join his brother George. Together, they established themselves as Produce and Exchange Brokers.
A partnership styled “John Brothers and Company” was formed with offices situated in Colombo and Kandy.
This partnership was dissolved, and Edwin John started an establishment of his own titled “E. John” and carried on the business of produce and exchange broking. The first decade of business of E. John was one of low activity. Villers records this period thus, “Business in those days was very limited. Coffee had all but gone out, Tea had not expanded sufficiently and the little business in Chinchona was not enough to go around. During this period, Reginald, son of Edwin John, joined his father in Ceylon.
Prospects began to improve rapidly with the approaching tea business.
Reginald John was taken into the partnership of E. John and Co. By this time, business was growing quite rapidly in tea, shares, oil, and exchange.
E. John and Co. amalgamated with two London Tea Broking firms, William Jas and Hy Thompson and Co. and Geo White and Co. The firm was then incorporated as a private limited liability company and the name was changed to E. John, Thompson, White and Co. Ltd.
E. John, Thompson, White and Co. Ltd., amalgamated with Keells and Waldock Ltd. The name was changed to John Keells Thompson White Ltd. This Company had its office in the National Mutual Insurance Company building in Chatham Street. The first Chairperson of the Company was Douglas Armitage and, on his retirement, he was succeeded by A.G.R. Willis. The Company acquired its Glennie Street premises from Dodwell and Company which were initially used as a warehouse.
The firm moved to the sixth floor of the then newly constructed Ceylinco House.
The initial step towards diversification of the activities of the Company was taken with the acquisition of Ceylon Mineral Waters Ltd.
M. C. Bostock was elected Chairperson of
the Company.
John Keells Limited moved its offices to Glennie Street, Slave Island.
John Keells Limited., became a People’s Company.
John Keells Holdings PLC acquired the controlling interest of John Keells Limited., M.C. Bostock retired and D.J.M. Blackler took over as the Chairperson of the Company.
K. Balendra took over as Chairperson, the first Sri Lankan to hold this position. John Keells Limited., acquired controlling interests in John Keells Stock brokers (Pvt) Ltd.
Financial Statements of the associates Keells Realtors Ltd and International Tourists and Hoteliers Ltd. were incorporated to the Consolidated Accounts.
K. Balendra retired as Chairperson on 31st December 2000.
V. Lintotawela took over as Chairperson on 1st January 2001. John Keells Limited incorporated John Keells Warehousing (Pvt) Ltd a fully owned subsidiary with B.O.J
status.
The state-of-the-art warehouse of John Keells Warehousing (Pvt) Ltd, which is the largest hi-tech tea warehouse in this part of the region was commissioned for storing pre-auctioned produce.
V. Lintotawela retired as Chairperson on 31st December 2005 and S. Ratnayake took over as Chairperson on 01st January 2006
The name of the Company was changed to John Keells PLC which is a new requirement of the Companies Act No. 7 of 2007
The Board of Directors at a meeting held on 20th July 2010 resolved to increase the number of shares by way of share sub-division based on a ratio of one (1) share for every (1) one share held. Consequently.
the number of shares after the sub -division increased to 30.40 million shares from 15.20 million shares.
The Board of Directors at a meeting held on 11th May 2011 resolved to increase the number of shares by way of a share sub-division based on a ratio of one (1) share for every (1) one share held. Consequently, the number of shares after the sub-division increased to 60.80 million shares from the previous 30.40 million shares.
The Company disposed of its land at 130, Glennie Street Colombo 2.
To ensure compliance with the new Securities Exchange Commission directive, which was to come into effect from 1st January 2016, the shares of the Company, which were listed on the Main Board, were transferred to the Diri Savi Board of the Colombo Stock Exchange.
In compliance with the Capital Adequacy Requirement implemented by The Colombo Stock Exchange on stock broking firms, JKPLC increased its investment in its subsidiary John Keells Stock Brokers (Pvt) Ltd by accepting the rights for 0.57 million shares.
Mr. K. N. J. Balendra and Mr. J. GA Cooray appointed as the new directors of John Keells PLC (wef 01st January 2018) with the retirement of Mr.A. D. Gunewardene and Mr. J. R.F. Peiris
Mr. K. N. J. Balendra was appointed as the new Chairperson lw.e.f. 01st January 2015 with the retirement of Mr. S. Ratnayake
John Keells PLC Celebrates 150 years of association with Ceylon Tea.
The first online tea auction was conducted on Saturday, April 04th, 2021
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John Keells PLC
PQ 11
John Keells Stock Brokers(Pvt)Limited
John Keells Warehousing (Pvt) Limited
Keells Realtors Limited
Public Limited Liability Company listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange. (Incorporated in Sri Lanka in 1960)
No 117,
Sir Chittampalam A. Gardiner Mawatha
Colombo 2, Sri Lanka
Tel:0094 11 2306000
Telelax: 0094 11 2342456
E-mail:jkl@keells.com
No 186, Vauxhall Street,
Colombo 2.
Mr. K N J Balendra
Mr. J G A Cooray
Mr. A Z Hashim
Ms. K D Weerasinghe
Ms. B A I Rajakarier
Mr. C N Wijewardena
Ms. A K Gunawardhana
Keells Constultants (Pvt) Limited
No 117,
Sir Chittampalam A. Gardiner Mawatha
Colombo 2
Messrs. Ernst & Young
Chartered Accountants
P.O. Box 101, Colombo
Bank of Ceylon
Cormmercial Bank of Ceylon PLC
Deutshe Bank
DFCC Vardhana Bank
Hatton National Bank
Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd.
Nation’s Trust Bank
National Development Bank PLC
Sampath Bank PLC
Seylan Bank
John Keells PLC
PQ 11
Keells Realtors Limited
Public Limited Liability Company listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange. (Incorporated in Sri Lanka in 1960)
No 117,
Sir Chittampalam A. Gardiner Mawatha
Colombo 2, Sri Lanka
Tel:0094 11 2306000
Telelax: 0094 11 2342456
E-mail:jkl@keells.com
No 186, Vauxhall Street,
Colombo 2.
Mr. K N J Balendra
Mr. J G A Cooray
Mr. A Z Hashim
Ms. K D Weerasinghe
Ms. B A I Rajakarier
Keells Constultants (Pvt) Limited
No 117,
Sir Chittampalam A. Gardiner Mawatha
Colombo 2
Messrs. Ernst & Young
Chartered Accountants
P.O. Box 101, Colombo
Bank of Ceylon
Cormmercial Bank of Ceylon PLC
Deutshe Bank
DFCC Vardhana Bank
Hatton National Bank
Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd.
Nation’s Trust Bank
National Development Bank PLC
Sampath Bank PLC
Seylan Bank
Edwin John came to Ceylon, as the Island was then called, to join his brother George. Together, they established themselves as Produce and Exchange Brokers.
E. John and Co. amalgamated with two London Tea Broking firms, William Jas and Hy Thompson and Co. and Geo White and Co. The firm was then incorporated as a private limited liability company and the name was changed to E. John, Thompson, White and Co. Ltd.
John Keells Limited moved its offices to Glennie Street, Slave Island.
K. Balendra retired as Chairperson on 31st December 2000.
The Board of Directors at a meeting held on 20th July 2010 resolved to increase the number of shares by way of share sub-division based on a ratio of one (1) share for every (1) one share held. Consequently.
the number of shares after the sub -division increased to 30.40 million shares from 15.20 million shares.
Mr. K. N. J. Balendra and Mr. J. GA Cooray appointed as the new directors of John Keells PLC (wef 01st January 2018) with the retirement of Mr.A. D. Gunewardene and Mr. J. R.F. Peiris
A partnership styled “John Brothers and Company” was formed with offices situated in Colombo and Kandy.
E. John, Thompson, White and Co. Ltd., amalgamated with Keells and Waldock Ltd. The name was changed to John Keells Thompson White Ltd. This Company had its office in the National Mutual Insurance Company building in Chatham Street. The first Chairperson of the Company was Douglas Armitage and, on his retirement, he was succeeded by A.G.R. Willis. The Company acquired its Glennie Street premises from Dodwell and Company which were initially used as a warehouse.
John Keells Limited., became a People’s Company
V. Lintotawela took over as Chairperson on 1st January 2001. John Keells Limited incorporated John Keells Warehousing (Pvt) Ltd a fully owned subsidiary with B.O.J status.
The Board of Directors at a meeting held on 11th May 2011 resolved to increase the number of shares by way of a share sub-division based on a ratio of one (1) share for every (1) one share held. Consequently, the number of shares after the sub-division increased to 60.80 million shares from the previous 30.40 million shares.
Mr. K. N. J. Balendra was appointed as the new Chairperson lw.e.f. 01st January 2015 with the retirement of Mr. S. Ratnayake
This partnership was dissolved, and Edwin John started an establishment of his own titled “E. John” and carried on the business of produce and exchange broking. The first decade of business of E. John was one of low activity. Villers records this period thus, “Business in those days was very limited. Coffee had all but gone out, Tea had not expanded sufficiently and the little business in Chinchona was not enough to go around. During this period, Reginald, son of Edwin John, joined his father in Ceylon.
The firm moved to the sixth floor of the then The firm moved to the sixth floor of the then newly constructed Ceylinco House.
John Keells Holdings PLC acquired the controlling interest of John Keells Limited., M.C. Bostock retired and D.J.M. Blackler took over as the Chairperson of the Company.
The state-of-the-art warehouse of John Keells Warehousing (Pvt) Ltd, which is the largest hi-tech tea warehouse in this part of the region was commissioned for storing pre-auctioned produce.
The Company disposed of its land at 130, Glennie Street Colombo 2.
John Keells PLC Celebrates 150 years of association with Ceylon Tea.
Prospects began to improve rapidly with the approaching tea business.
The initial step towards diversification of the activities of the Company was taken with the acquisition of Ceylon Mineral Waters Ltd.
K. Balendra took over as Chairperson, the first Sri Lankan to hold this position. John Keells Limited., acquired controlling interests in John Keells Stock brokers (Pvt) Ltd.
V. Lintotawela retired as Chairperson on 31st December 2005 and S. Ratnayake took over as Chairperson on 01st January 2006
To ensure compliance with the new Securities Exchange Commission directive, which was to come into effect from 1st January 2016, the shares of the Company, which were listed on the Main Board, were transferred to the Diri Savi Board of the Colombo Stock Exchange.
The first online tea auction was conducted on Saturday, April 04th, 2021
Reginald John was taken into the partnership of E. John and Co. By this time, business was growing quite rapidly in tea, shares, oil, and exchange.
M. C. Bostock was elected Chairperson of
the Company.
Financial Statements of the associates Keells Realtors Ltd and International Tourists and Hoteliers Ltd. were incorporated to the Consolidated Accounts.
The name of the Company was changed to John Keells PLC which is a new requirement of the Companies Act No. 7 of 2007
In compliance with the Capital Adequacy Requirement implemented by The Colombo Stock Exchange on stock broking firms, JKPLC increased its investment in its subsidiary John Keells Stock Brokers (Pvt) Ltd by accepting the rights for 0.57 million shares.
Mr. K. N. J. Balendra and Mr. J. GA Cooray appointed as the new directors of John Keells PLC (wef 01st January 2018) with the retirement of Mr.A. D. Gunewardene and Mr. J. R.F. Peiris
