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Baird & Co

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Coordinates: 51°31′15.68″N 0°6′30.48″W / 51.5210222°N 0.1084667°W / 51.5210222; -0.1084667
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Baird & Co.
Founded1967; 57 years ago (1967)
FounderTony Baird
Headquarters48 Hatton Garden, London, EC1N 8EX,
London
,
England
ProductsBullion, Jewellery, Planchets[1]
Number of employees
+50
Websitewww.bairdmint.com

Baird & Co. is the largest gold refiner and the only full-service bullion merchant in the United Kingdom. Founded by Tony Baird in 1967; Baird & Co. initially dealt in numismatic coins expanding into bullion bars and jewellery as time progressed.[citation needed] The company is headquartered in Hatton Garden, London,[2] operating out of a 30,000 sq foot high-security refinery in Beckton[3] and an international branch in Singapore.[4]

Operations

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The company primarily trades gold, silver, platinum, palladium and rhodium bars and numismatic coins. All are offered in a range of weights and sizes aimed at private investors, collectors and institutional clients. Baird and Co. also provides vaulting facilities, as well as manufacturing specialist alloys for industrial use.[5][6]

Founder and Company History

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The company's founder Antony Stephen Baird was born in 1942 at the family ancestral home in Lanarkshire, Scotland. Shortly, after World War II, the family moved to London and he began bartering coins at school. However, it was not until 1967, and the launch of the South African krugerrand, that he took up coin dealing as a full-time occupation. By the mid-70s Tony had established a permanent office in Stratford and would often drive to Switzerland in his E-Type Jaguar to collect thousands of gold coins. On 1 April 1982 VAT was applied to gold coins at the going rate of 15% (it was subsequently removed on 1 January 2000) and the following collapse of the UK gold coin market encouraged Tony to diversify into other gold products, particularly jewellery manufacturing and more recently producing gold bars. 1987 saw the opening of their first branch in Hatton Garden where they provided over the counter cash trade. Baird & Co. moved to their brand new refinery in 2008 to accommodate the Olympics in Stratford.[7] Baird & Co. remains privately owned.[8] Tony Baird died on 12 April 2015. He is survived by his wife Lorena and two sons Alex and Carlos. His funeral was held on 10 September 2015 and was attended by several LBMA members.

Awards

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The company has been offering precious metal coins and bars online via its website since 1996, making it the first website of its kind in the industry and one of the first dynamic websites in the UK.[9] In 2000 Baird & Co. gained entry to the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) and remains a full member.[10] Between 2011 and 2013 Baird & Co. ranked in the Sunday Times Fast Track 100, Top Track 250 and Profit Track 100 league tables of the fastest-growing private companies in the UK[11][12][13] and also featured in the Real Business Hot 100.[14][15] In 2012 Baird & Co, released the world's first commercial rhodium investment bar[16][17] and partnered with the nation of Tuvalu in 2018 to produce the world's first legal tender rhodium coin; The Tuvalu South Sea Dragon.[18] Baird & Co. became an official distributor of The Royal Mint in 2016 and were winners of the Queen's Enterprise Award for Business in the international trade category in 2018.[19]

References

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  1. ^ "First Scottish gold sold for 'premium' price". BBC News. 29 November 2016. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  2. ^ "Gold Rush: driving £3m worth of gold in a Porsche Panamera". Top Gear. 2 February 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  3. ^ "The pots of gold at the east edge of London". The Guardian. 26 December 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  4. ^ "Baird & Co. Opens Singapore Office as Asian Gold Demand Rises". Bloomberg. October 2013. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  5. ^ "Hot 100 2012 – 2: Baird Investments - Real Business". Hot 100 2012 – 2: Baird Investments - Real Business : Real Business. 5 April 2012. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  6. ^ Hunter, Teresa (27 November 2008). "Ten ways to invest in gold". ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  7. ^ "Alchemist issue 77" (PDF). LBMA. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  8. ^ "Baird & Co website, About Us".
  9. ^ "Hot 100 2012 – 2: Baird Investments - Real Business". Hot 100 2012 – 2: Baird Investments - Real Business : Real Business. 5 April 2012. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  10. ^ "LBMA - Current Membership". www.lbma.org.uk. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  11. ^ TWK. "Fast Track". Fast Track. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  12. ^ TWK. "Fast Track". Fast Track. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  13. ^ TWK. "Fast Track". Fast Track. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  14. ^ "Hot 100 2013 – 3: Baird Investments - Real Business". Hot 100 2013 – 3: Baird Investments - Real Business : Real Business. 6 June 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  15. ^ "Hot 100 2012 – 2: Baird Investments - Real Business". Hot 100 2012 – 2: Baird Investments - Real Business : Real Business. 5 April 2012. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  16. ^ "Rhodium Beating Platinum to Palladium on Car Sales: Commodities". Bloomberg.com. 28 February 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  17. ^ "Rhodium: the niche alternative to gold". MoneyWeek. 26 April 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  18. ^ "Have you considered Rhodium?". Gold Bullion Australia. 4 June 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  19. ^ "Baird and Co Limited known as Bairdmint «". Retrieved 23 January 2019.

51°31′15.68″N 0°6′30.48″W / 51.5210222°N 0.1084667°W / 51.5210222; -0.1084667

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