The cotton business was eventually closed and, after an unsuccessful period of diversification, Finlay concentrated on its core interests of tea and other agricultural produce.
It was James's younger son, Kirkman Finlay, that took the firm into manufacturing and made it a major force in the Scottish cotton industry.
It was he who was responsible for the early growth of James Finlay & Co. broadening the merchanting and turning the firm into one of the leading Scottish cotton manufacturers.
The increase in Finlay's trade required more capital and in 1792 Kirkman widened the basis of the firm by what Brogan described as entering into partnership with the Glasgow merchants Leitch and Smith, and Stirling, Gordon,[1] These two firms were among the larger Glasgow West India merchants,[2] and Devine noted that Leitch and Smith and Stirling, Gordon & Co held about fifty per cent of the capital stock of James Finlay & Co.[3] These new relationships helped Finlay expand its export of cotton manufactures to Europe.
These branches were often in the form of partnerships between Finlay and local management and included Manchester, 1799; Heligoland, 1807; and London and Malta in 1809.
[4][1] By the time of Kirkman's death in 1842, James Finlay & Co. was a leading Scottish manufacturer, trading with America, and across Europe and Asia.
As early as 1813 he was elected Lord Provost of Glasgow; he also became a Governor of the Forth and Clyde Navigation, President of the Chamber of Commerce and a Member of Parliament.
Losses were incurred in 1847 and 1848; by then John Finlay was the only son of Kirkman left in the firm, and non-family members had been brought in as partners.
Considerable sums had to be spent modernizing the Catrine and Deanston mills and the Indian agency business was revived.
[7] In 1882 the firm's Scottish cotton mills were declared unremunerative and John Muir and the junior partners agreed to invest "a considerable amount of capital" in two tea companies.
By the time of his death in 1903, Finlay had 274,000 acres planted and employed 70,000 Indian workers and a large staff of superintendents, managers and assistants from Scotland.
Upon his death in 1903, the business was supervised by trustees and the management was led by the eldest son, Alexander Kay Muir.
[8] The fall in commodity prices and the devaluation of the Indian rupee after WWI caused severe losses for Finlay; amongst other things, Champdany Jute was placed in liquidation.
[11] In general, the inter-war period was difficult for Finlay, with the depression, falling commodity prices and Indian cotton manufacture suffering from Japanese imports, The Scottish mills also incurred losses but were kept open.
After the rationalization, the UK interests comprised merchant banking; North Sea oil; tea trading; confectionary and beverages.
In September 2000, James Finlay was fully acquired by John Swire and in that decade its core interests were tea; agricultural products including rubber, flowers and timber; and logistics and agency services.