Olivo & Bakirgian

The textile merchant company, Olivo & Bakirgian, was established in 1881 when Bedros, Nazareth and Zachariah Bakirgian joined the business founded by Marco Olivo in 1849. The Bakirgian family, who were of Armenian origin, played a prominent role in Manchester's Armenian community. Initially operating from offices in Manchester and Smyrna [modern day Izmir], the company expanded steadily under the leadership of Marco Bakirgian, who assumed management in 1910 and became a British citizen in the same year.

During the First World War, the firm's trading activities broadened significantly, extending to South America, Egypt, India, Russia and China. Family connections in Chile enabled further expansion into the South American markets of Argentina, Chile, Peru and Uruguay. Following political unrest in Turkey, the company temporarily withdrew from Smyrna in 1922, although resumed trading there during the 1930s.

The company's manufacturing interests expanded in 1923 with the purchase of a textile mill in north Lancashire operating 525 looms, and in 1924 it entered the Australian market. Further diversification followed with the establishment of Collins (Manufacturers) Ltd in 1927 to serve the domestic market, and Northern Sudan Estates Ltd in 1928, which acquired a 3,000-acre cotton plantation near Atbara in Sudan. Olivo & Bakirgian ceased trading in 1985.