Christian Salvesen was a Scottish whaling, transport and logistics company with a long and varied history, employing 13,000 staff and operating in seven countries in western Europe.

[3][4] In 1883, Christian Salvesen, delegated management of shipping operations to his eldest sons, Thomas and Frederick, who became partners in the firm.

[6] As the boom in whaling ended after World War II, Salvesen moved into the commercial trawler business and also bought a cold store in Grimsby.

It traded primarily in housebuilding, general food freezing and oil before moving back into the transport business by buying Swift Services.

His offices were on the south side of Bernard Street, Leith, in a building that doubled as the Norwegian Consulate for Edinburgh (now a Chinese restaurant).

As a public company, the business focussed on European logistics, buying Swift Transport Services in October 1993.

A potential takeover by Hays plc in August 1996, which could have valued the shares in the 350–400 pence range, did not result in a formal offer.

[9][10] During this period, a Swedish investor AB Custos discussed buying the company, and yet again no formal offer was issued to shareholders.

[12] On 2 October 2007, the board recommended a cash offer by Norbert Dentressangle for £254.4 million to buy Christian Salvesen.