Editing Rootes Group (section)

===Ownership and control, Rootes family===
Rootes Motors Limited was the new name assumed 16 November 1949 of holding company Rootes Securities Limited. Substantially the whole of 1917's initial capital had been provided by the two Rootes brothers. Thereafter the business's expansion was financed by retained profits supplemented where necessary, for example the purchase of Hillman, by loans from [[Prudential plc|Prudential]] and the company's bankers principally [[Midland Bank]]. On 24 November 1949 shares in Rootes Motors Limited were issued to the public in exchange for £3,025,000. Rootes was now a [[public company]] and the new capital repaid the Prudential and Midland Bank loans. The listed shares however were preference shares. The equity capital remained in the hands of the Rootes family now with new partner Prudential who had taken up all of the offered £1,000,000 of ordinary shares.<ref name =Times21Nov1949/> External shareholders continued to hold a large proportion of Humber Limited. The preference shares issued to the public by Humber remained listed.<ref>City Notes ''The Times'' 21 November 1949 page 8</ref> In addition there were external shareholdings in the Rootes Acceptances vehicle exporting business and in [[Automobile Products of India]].<ref name=TT51885>Rootes Motors Limited ''The Times'' 29 December 1950 page 10</ref>

At this time employees totalled 17,000. Rootes owned, on average, about 80 per cent of the capital of its subsidiaries. The manufacturing subsidiaries were held through partly owned Humber Limited. Manufacture was carried out in three factories in Coventry with more at Luton, [[Cricklewood]] and Acton. There was a wholly owned assembly plant in Australia and similar facilities owned with associates in Argentina, Republic of Ireland and India. From Devonshire House in Piccadilly the original business, the marketing subsidiary, directed operations at five branches in Kent, their [[North Kensington]] service department and Birmingham and Manchester branches together with distribution companies overseas sometimes jointly owned.<ref name =Times21Nov1949/>

Barely twelve months after listing preference shares the Rootes brothers recognised the effect [[Inheritance tax|death duties]] would have on their holdings and their businesses and the two brothers offered one quarter of Rootes Motors' ordinary shares to current holders of Rootes preference shares.<ref>News in Brief ''The Times'' 3 October 1950 page 6</ref><ref>City Notes ''The Times'' 3 October 1950 page 9</ref> Further issues of preference shares and debenture stock followed in November 1954<ref>City Notes ''The Times'' 15 October 1954 page 11</ref> and November 1959. Rootes Acceptances Limited, the export financing arm, was sold.<ref>Rootes Motors Limited ''The Times'' 26 October 1959 page 17</ref>