British Electric Traction Company Limited, renamed BET plc in 1985, was a large British industrial conglomerate. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but was acquired by Rentokil in 1996, and the merged company is now known as Rentokil Initial.
History
Early history
Tramway services
thumb|BET wagon used in the installation of overhead tram wires, at Sedgley,
thumb|[[Wolverhampton District Electric Tramways Company preserved tramcar at the Black Country Museum]]
The company was founded in 1895 as British Electric Traction Company Ltd., with Sir Charles Rivers Wilson as chairman and Emile Garcke as managing director. It was involved in the electrification of tramways in British towns and cities, From operating trams, BET moved on to manufacturing them with the purchase of Brush Electrical Engineering Company in 1901.
The BET became the largest of the private owners of tramways in the British Isles. During its history, it gained control in England of the Metropolitan Electric and South Metropolitan systems in London, as well as systems in Barnsley, Barrow-in-Furness, Birmingham, Birmingham and Midland, Brighton and Shoreham, Cambridge, Devonport and District, Dewsbury Ossett and Soothill Nether, Dudley and Stourbridge, Gateshead, Gravesend, Great Yarmouth, Hartlepool, Jarrow, Kidderminster and Stourport, Leamington and Warwick, Mexborough and Swinton, Middleton, Oldham Ashton and Hyde, Peterborough, Poole, the Potteries, Rossendale Valley, Sheerness, South Staffordshire, Southport, South Shields, Taunton, Tynemouth, Weston-Super-Mare, Wolverhampton District, Worcester, and Yorkshire (Woollen District).
In Wales
- Merthyr Tydfil Electric Tramways
- Swansea
- Swansea and Mumbles Railway
- Wrexham and District Electric Tramways
In Scotland
- Airdrie and Coatbridge Tramways
- Greenock and Port Glasgow
- Rothesay and Ettrick Bay Light Railway
In Northern Ireland
- Cavehill and Whitewell Tramway
The last BET tram ran on 4 August 1951, when the Gateshead and District Tramways Company replaced its trams with buses.
Motor bus services
In 1905 a subsidiary was formed to operate motor buses, which became increasingly important to the group as many municipalities were compulsorily acquiring company-owned tram networks in their areas.
Post war
Nationalisation of BET's electricity generation and distribution activities took place in 1947
Leisure and entertainment
In 1947 BET acquired a substantial minority interest in Broadcast Relay Service Ltd, trading as Rediffusion, which distributed radio and television signals through wired relay networks.
BET acquired Shifnal, Shropshire based Wrekin Construction Company Limited in 1972 and divested the business to its founder Tom Frain in 1983 for £3 million.
In 1985 BET acquired the crane company G W Sparrow & Sons plc, and combined its craneage interests into a new subsidiary, Grayston White and Sparrow.
Laundry and linen rental
BET entered the laundry business in 1934, and in 1935 acquired an interest in Advance Linen Services, which became a subsidiary in 1955.
In 1950 BET took a 10% interest in Initial. BET also sold its construction interests.
BET retained the profitable laundry and linen rental businesses, and also the shipping businesses of United Transport.
In 1996 BET was acquired by the much smaller Rentokil, after a hostile take-over bid. The merged company was named Rentokil Initial.