Making of The Michelin Building
Patents owned by Dunlop prevented other manufactures from selling their tyres in Britain, except under licence. The patents were due to expire in the autumn of 1904, and in anticipation of this, Michelin opened an office in Tavistock Place, South Kensington. Michelin sent four employees over from France to Britain to establish the new British branch of the company. Fourteen local staff were also recruited. In June 1905, the Michelin Tyre Company Limited was incorporated. Within a year, the staff had increased to over forty and the company moved into new premises in Sussex Place. When it soon became apparent that the company needed much larger premises, the search for a new site began. A number of different sites were looked into and the earliest plans for a purpose-built London Headquarters date from 1906 for a site on Vauxhall Bridge Road. In 1909, a site on Fulham Road was offered to the company. Fulham Road, one of the main routes into London was considered a great location. Later that same year, a piece of land bordered by Fulham Road, Sloane Avenue, Leader Street and Lucan Place was purchased freehold from Cadgan and Hans Estate Co. Work on a design for the building had already begun and on 4 April 1910, the final designs for Michelin House were completed. Shortly after, work began on the building’s construction.
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