FARROW & BALL
STORY SO FAR
Founded in 1946 in Wimborne, Dorset, by two chemists, John Farrow and Richard Ball. The company stayed a family business until 2006, when it was sold via management buyout to American Capital’s European Capital Limited for around £80 million; private equity firm Ares Management bought it for £275 million in 2014, and Danish coatings group Hempel completed a roughly £500 million acquisition in 2021, which remains the current owner. In 2010 Farrow & Ball became the first paint manufacturer to switch entirely to 100% water-based paints. The brand is particularly known for the distinctive, often eccentric names given to its 132-plus colours (Elephant’s Breath among the best-known), and now employs around 550 people, running 63 showrooms across the UK, US, Canada and Europe alongside more than 1,490 third-party stockists.
DESIGNED BY
Colours and formulations developed in-house at the company’s Wimborne, Dorset headquarters. UK-based: Yes.
MADE BY
Per the brand and independent reporting: all paint is manufactured at Farrow & Ball’s own factory on the Uddens Estate, Wimborne, Dorset, employing around 550 people. Ownership has passed through several private equity firms and, since 2021, Danish group Hempel, but manufacturing has remained at the Dorset site throughout. No parts-by-percentage breakdown published.
TO BUY
Further information
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farrow_%26_Ball
Further research reading
Region Made
Wimborne, Dorset
