Time moves on for Big Ben's keeper

The clock popularly referred to as Big Ben is one of Britain most famous monuments

In this story: 'Still accurate' No firm offers RELATED SITES

By Paul Sussman, CNN.com Europe writer

LONDON, England (CNN) -- If you have ever fancied getting involved in the upkeep of Big Ben and have a few hundred thousand pounds in your back pocket, then you might be interested to hear of an exciting new business opportunity.

Thwaites & Reed, the world's oldest clock makers and the company responsible for maintaining the most famous timepiece in Europe, is currently looking for a new buyer.

"Our name is respected throughout the world," says Melvyn Lee, who has owned the British-based company for the last 10 years but is now ready to retire. "We are certainly the best known clock makers in Britain, and probably Europe too.

"It is a unique opportunity for someone wanting to get into the horology market."

Although the business, which employs 35 people and has workshops south of London and beneath the House of Commons, is 260 years old, it is being sold in a thoroughly modern manner -- via the Internet.

"The Web is a forum that goes to places other forms of advertising can't touch," says Lee. "I have no idea if it's the right way to do it. All I know is that it is there and I thought 'Let's give it a try!'"

Prospective buyers can log on to www.businessesforsale.com, where, among the adverts for fish and chip shops and Baskin Robbins franchises, they will find one for "the world's oldest clock maker."

Unique selling points include "quality customer base, long-term contract income, loyal workforce and worldwide brand-name reputation," although no price is actually specified.

"I'm open to a variety of offers," says Lee. "When the right person comes along, then we'll discuss money."

The company traces its history back to 1740, when Aynsworth Thwaites built his first clock, for Horseguards' Parade, London. It is still in service today, as accurate as it was 2 1/2 centuries ago.

In 1751, Thwaites' sons established a partnership with another clock maker, George Jeremiah Reed, and the business has been going strong ever since.

"Although the height of their fame was in the late 18th and early 19th centuries," says Michael Turner, head of the clocks and watches division of Sotheby's auction house in London. "They are still one of Britain's best known clock makers."

The company's turret clocks can be found on civic, business and church buildings throughout the world, from Fortnum and Mason's department store in London to the Queen Victoria Building in Sydney, Australia.

"All the countries that once belonged to the British Empire have Thwaites & Reed clocks," says Lee. "They're everywhere."

As well as designing and manufacturing clocks, the company also does a roaring trade in clock maintenance. It's most important contract being the upkeep of the 140-year-old Great Clock in St. Stephen's Tower at the Palace of Westminster, better known as Big Ben (named after Benjamin Hall, the engineer who designed the clock's giant bell).

The contract, which the company has held since 1975, involves oiling and winding the clock three times a week and servicing it twice yearly in the spring and autumn, when it is stopped briefly to change to British Summer Time and back again.

"It can only be stopped for a couple of hours in the middle of the night," says Lee. "So we have to work very fast, and with no margin of error."

The job is especially prestigious because of Big Ben's status as one of the most famous of all British monuments.

"We recognise the symbolism," says Lee. "But we don't let it get in the way. We're technical people and just concentrate on getting the job done to the best of our ability."

Lee is hoping that the company will stay in British ownership, although his main concern is that it should be bought by someone "with a global perspective."

"The company needs new faces and new blood," he says. "Someone who can take a long view and who has the energy to tap into new markets."

He has already had several inquiries about the business, although no firm offers.

"It is such a specialised industry that there's probably only one person in the whole world who is right to take it over, and I'm happy to wait until that person comes along," he says.

"At the moment, time isn't really a problem."

Thwaites & Reed
Big Ben
British Horological Institute

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