History
The firm was founded as a land agency in Dublin in 1836 by barrister Robert Rundell Guinness, a great-nephew of the brewer Arthur Guinness, and John Ross Mahon, an estate agent. A London office opened in 1873, closed in 1916 during World War I and then re-opened again in 1923. This became Guinness Mahon Holdings, which merged with Lewis & Peat Ltd in 1974, forming Guinness Peat (now Guinness Peat Group).
The Group ran into difficulties in the late 1980s and demerged into three parts: the Guinness Mahon investment banking business, Fenchurch Insurance and the off-shore investment activities. The offshore investment activities in Australia and New Zealand (still known as Guinness Peat Group) were bought by Brierley Investments Limited (a business controlled by Sir Ron Brierley) in 1990 and the Guinness Mahon investment banking business was acquired by Bank of Yokohama in 1991 and then sold on to Investec in 1998.
Meanwhile Fenchurch Insurance merged with Lowndes Lambert in 1997 to create Lambert Fenchurch, then with Heath Group in 1999 to form Heath Lambert and then with Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in 2011 to form Gallagher Heath.
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