Osborne & Little

Osborne & Little Limited is a British manufacturer and retailer of upmarket wallpaper and fabrics. It was established in 1968 and now has showrooms worldwide.[1] It was among the brands included in the Victoria and Albert Museum's British Design 1948–2012: Innovation in the Modern Age exhibition in 2012.[2]

History

Osborne & Little was established by Sir Peter Osborne (father of Conservative Party politician George Osborne) and his brother-in-law Antony Little.[3] The company's shop, in the King's Road, Chelsea, put it in the heart of Swinging London.[4]

Little was the designer – he had been responsible for Biba's distinctive black and gold logo – and created most of the company's early ranges.[3] Hand-printed papers were inspired by everything from the designs of Aubrey Beardsley to the Brighton Pavilion[3][4] Its success in reinterpreting classic designs in new ways during the 1970s and '80s meant that Little soon presided over a large design team. In the book Twentieth Century Pattern Design, Lesley Jackson described the brand as distinctive for its bold reinterpretations of traditional patterns, adding: "historical references tend to be lateral rather than literal".[5]

Expansion

The company took over Isabel Tisdall's Tamesa Fabrics in 1985 and later acquired the distribution rights to Lorca fabrics and Liberty Furnishings.[5][6] It has a longstanding association with interior designer Nina Campbell, distributing her collections.[7][8] The company has a wholly owned US subsidiary and showrooms across Europe, in addition to retailing via UK stores such as John Lewis.[9] Its high-profile clients have included Bill and Hillary Clinton, who used Osborne & Little designs in their private apartment at the White House.[3]

The company was formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange, delisting in 2003; it had a turnover of almost £33m in 2011, with a quarter of this coming from sales in mainland Europe.[10] Little retired from the business in 2005 and Osborne remains CEO. Former Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne retains a shareholding in the company.[3][11]

Tax 'deferral'

The company recorded a pre-tax profit of £722,000 on turnover of £34 million in 2014/5. In 2015 it was revealed by Private Eye that, despite this profit, the company paid no corporation tax for the year 2015 – thereby avoiding a "tax bill" of £179,000.[12] The magazine also revealed that the company had not paid any corporation tax since 2008 and had even received a tax credit of £12,000 in the year 2010.[12] This was due to the company making losses totalling £9 million between 2009 and 2014, which allow the carry forward of credits for losses against the 2015 corporation tax bill. Despite these losses, the companies' directors were paid a total of £1.2million in the year 2012 alone.[13] The former Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, owns a 15% stake in the company, which is estimated to be worth between 15 and 30 million pounds.[13]

Design collaborations

Osborne & Little has collaborated with a number of other British fashion and textile designers over the years, including Zandra Rhodes, Neisha Crosland and Matthew Williamson.[5][14][15]

External links

• home page
• Examples of Osborne & Little designs held at the Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A)