We are very grateful to Finlays who have donated £10,000 to sponsor the plaque at St Katherine's Docks.

Finlays was founded in 1750. As a wholly owned subsidiary of the Swire Group, the company has extensive tea and horticultural interests in Kenya, South Africa and Sri Lanka, complemented by global trading, packaging and extraction activities. It's primary markets are in the UK, USA, Asia and increasingly continental Europe.

Finlays is a well respected global brand, with a 250+ year old heritage. It has operations in many countries and in diversified markets and is well known across the tea and horticulture industries. Over the years Finlays has played important roles in the development of the tea industry in India, has pioneered instant tea research, development and production. Recent expansion into flowers, fresh produce and rubber is in keeping with its 250 years old tradition to continually expand by seeking opportunities which will benefit shareholders, employees and stakeholders

Tea, Coffee, Rubber and Timber
Finlays' Tea Estates in Kenya and Sri Lanka cover more than 15,000 hectares and produce 40 million kilos of black tea each year. Finlays is the largest trader of Fairtrade tea in the world and largest roaster of coffee in the UK. In addition to managing 5,000 hectares of timber in Kenya and Sri Lanka, we produce 1 million kilos of rubber latex annually from 2,000 hectares of rubber estates in Sri Lanka.

Tea Trading, Tea Extracts and Beverage Packing
Finlays is one of the largest independent tea traders in the world, trading more than 70 million kilos of tea each year from our offices in UK, Kenya, Sri Lanka, UAE, Malawi, Vietnam, Indonesia, USA and China. We are also the world's largest suppliers of quality tea extracts, including instant teas and aromas, dealing with all the world's top beverage companies. The company also has beverage businesses in the UK and Sri Lanka sourcing, blending and packaging private label tea and coffee for customers in the UK, the Middle East and Japan.

We employ over 39,000 people, on flower farms in Kenya & South Africa and tea estates in Kenya & Sri Lanka. We are very serious about our responsibilities towards our people and their communities as well as the local and global environment. Our flower farms and many of our tea estates are Fairtrade accredited.

However, while operating to high ethical and environmental standards and audited by numerous external audit bodies, we recognise that the environmental and social situation is never a constant and are committed to continually looking for ways to improve our performance.

Finlays is a wholly owned subsidiary of John Swire and Sons Limited UK.