Records of Hapugastenne and Udapussellawa Plantations Limited

• Udapussellawa Plantations Limited annual reports 1998-2002;
• Hapugastenne and Udapussellawa Plantations Limited performance reports 1999-2006.

Established in field Number 16 of the Bambaralakande Division. Finlays pioneered the tea plantations in Bambarabotuwa valley in Sri Lanka, in 1892, by planting the first seedling tea field at the Hapugastenne Tea Estate. Finlays divested its plantations interested to the Sri Lanka Government in 1970 when confronted with land reforms designed to limit private ownership of lands to just 50 acres.

This resulted in the nationalisation of 50 acres of tea, rubber and coconut plantations in 1972 under the land reform act. The ownership was vested in the Government owned Janatha Estates Development Board and the Sri Lanka State Plantations Corporation.

Estates were bundled into 22 Regional Plantation Companies and management of the companies was handed over to the private sector 1992. James Finlay Colombo, acquired the management of Hapugastenne Plantations Limited however the Government retained ownership. 51% of the Government shares in regional companies were offered via the Colombo stock exchange 1995. James Finlay Colombo were out bided by The Plantation Investment Management Company (PIMC), a quasi-Government organisation yet they retained the management of Hapugastenne Plantations Limited.

Through their subsidiary James Finlay Plantation Holdings (Lanka) Limited, they would eventually acquire full ownership of PIMC shares in 1997. This 51% shareholders acquisition of Hapugastenne and Udapussellawa and other regional plantation companies owned by PIMC, they came within the Finlays Group.

James Finlay Limited acquired a 19% stake of Hapugastenne and Udapussellawa plantations held by the Government 2003. James Finlay Colombo divested its shares to James Finlay Limited (Glasgow), through their fully owned subsidiary James Finlay Plantation Holdings (Lanka) Ltd.

Finlays Tea Estates Lanka (Pvt) Ltd is incorporated as a fully owned subsidiary of James Finlay Plantation Holdings (Lanka) Ltd in 2008, to manage Hapugastenne and Udapussellawa plantations. The company continues to be active, consisting of over 1300 hectares of land, mainly growing tea and other secondary crops such as coffee, cloves, fuel wood and timber. The fields grow around 3 million kg of high quality low grown fresh tea leaves per year.

Cited from: http://finlaysteaestates.lk/about-finlays/

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Sri Lanka Board visit GB 248 UGD 091/1/1/8/34;

Yeild statements; Hapugastenne and Udapussellawa Plantations Limited GB 248 UGD 091/1/1/15/3;

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Description compiled in line with the following international standards: International Council on Archives, ISAD(G) Second Edition, September 1999and National Council on Archives, Rules for the construction of personal, place and corporate names

Scotland is the location of all place names in the administrative/biographical history element, unless otherwise stated.

Fonds level description compiled by Peter Morphew, Business Archive Cataloguer (James Finlay Ltd), January 2015.