Ceylinco Consolidated was a Sri Lanka business conglomerate until 2008.
History
The original company, Ceylon Insurance Company, was founded by Hugh Weerasekera and Chevalier C. S. Antony with board members Justin Kotelawala, Cyril Rodrigo, and Cyril E. S. Perera (UNP member for Colombo North). It was the first Ceylonese company to be registered under the Companies Ordinance of 1938. The company commenced business on 3 April 1939, providing life and general insurance services. The Company was first located in the C.S. Anthony Building at 22 Baillie Street, in Colombo fort and later moved to No.69 Queens’ Street (Janadhipathi Mawatha), where the “Ceylinco House” was constructed.
The first directors of the company consisted of persons from the business world, medical profession and legal profession. They were:- Dr. S. C. Paul; Rosslyn Koch, C. S. Anthony, L. B. de Mel; Dr P. Kulasinghe; and Cyril E. S. Perera.
Due to the Perera's political stance against the SLFP's divisive "Sinhala Only Act" the Ceylon Insurance Co. was eventually politically persuaded to relinquish control by the then SLFP government of Mrs Bandaranayake to Senator Justin Kotelawala then on the board of Ceylon Insurance. Justin Kotelawala gained control of Ceylon Insurance Co. from Alice Farmacia Perera, the widow of Cyril E. S. Perera, and from Violet van Dort, the widow of Hugh Weerasekere. Many people at the time were under the impression Ceylon Insurance Co. was not a profitable company due to what people were led to believe, when, in fact, Ceylon Insurance Co. was and still is a significant player in Sri Lanka's economy. Cyril E. S. Perera also co-founded (with the Berenger family) another significant Sri Lankan company, Ceylon Chocolates Limited, known for its Kandos brand, which was named after