Bennett's of Ballinacurra Descriptive List (Ref. B609)

B609/

B609/4/C

Directors’, Management, and Company Secretary’s Correspondence, 1950-69 (1935-37)

Board of Directors, Management Committee, and Company Secretary’s Correspondence, 1950-69 (1935-37). The first file present is a small one concerning the transition of ownership and management following the death of John H Bennett in 1935. The second relates to the reorganisation of the company in 1951. Files 3 to 15 cover discussions among JHB directors on subjects such as company land, staff, wages, loans, capital purchases, and dealings with growers and suppliers. Arrangements for meetings are also discussed. Files 16 to 34 cover correspondence between members of the JHB Management Committee. There is much overlap, as both bodies seem to have had several members in common at any one time [see B609/1/D/6]. Files 35 and 36 are comprised of Company Secretary’s correspondence, much of which is financial in nature. B609/4/C/1 Letters regarding the transition of ownership and management of JHB following the death of John H Bennett, 1935-36. The letters present are by Dorothy McNeill and WH Read, and are directed to Exhams (solicitors), Magennis, Burns, Griffin & Co (company auditors), and AGS, regarding the wind-up of the estate and the company’s status. In a letter dated 29 November 1935, Miss McNeill explains the uncertainty surrounding the company’s future, not simply owing to the transfer of ownership, but also the difficult competitive conditions in the Cork barley market. B609/4/C/2 Correspondence regarding reorganisation of the company, 1950-52. Letters are mainly between Esther Bennett, Dorothy West and Sir Richard Levinge (AGS). Other correspondents include AH Hughes (AGS), Mr O’Connor (accountant), and Cecil Exham and Denis Quinlan (law agent). The letters discuss valuation of the company, including premises and farms, distribution of shares, meetings, and resolutions to amend articles. Includes a note by Dorothy West on a meeting between JHB officers, an accountant, AGS representatives, and law agents for both sides, at the offices of Magennis, Burns, Griffin & Co, on 22 May 1951 to discuss the reorganisation, and in particular AGS’ offer for four-fifths of the existing ordinary shares. Also present are sheets showing barley sales and purchases figures for the years 1935 to 1950, and a rough note on farm rents. [See also B609/4/A/2, B609/4/B/1-2, and B609/9/E/16.] B609//4/C/3 Correspondence between JHB Directors, October 1951 to December 1952. The present file is mainly comprised of letters from the Chairman, Sir RHV Levinge, AGS, with many replies by Mrs Dorothy West, Managing Director, JHB. Also present are letters from H Murdock and AB Coulson,

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