ABOUT US

Our friendly and approachable team will take care of your project, from concept to delivery, drawing on five generations of expertise and the relationships that have been forged along the way.

We have worked with cotton textiles for 160 years, starting from a market stall on Whitecross Street before, in 1864, moving up the road to the premises we still occupy today.

Continuous improvement to the sustainability of our products is at the core of our vision. The environmental impact of our raw materials, the social and ethical policies within our supply chain and the long lifecycle of our products are central to our decision making.

Abraham Holtz started trading textiles from a stall on Whitecross Street Market in London. Above a nearby shop he rented rooms in which he and his family lived.

1855

The lease on the Whitecross Street shop came free and Abraham brought the business in from the street to the same premises that we are based in today. He supplied local manufacturing stationers and bookbinders with bookcloth.

1864

Abraham’s son, Henry, joined the business followed by his brother Maurice some years later. We became ‘A Holtz & Sons’.

1884

Henry’s sons, Leslie and Percy, joined the firm and continued to supply bookcloth and textiles for manufacturing stationers. We still trade with a handful of those customers that we supplied in the early 20th century. As WW1 made a “Z” on the end of our name undesirable and we became A Holt & Sons.

1918

We bought our premises on Whitecross Street and Leslie and Percy’s cousin Philip (Simon’s grandfather) joined the business.

1920

Philip’s son, Brian joined the firm in 1954 and worked in the business until 1999. During this period, we began supplying textiles to the food industry and expanded the bookcloth side.

1954

Simon joined the team after working in various sales roles. He leads the firm today.

1990

We partnered with our preferred mill in India and produced the first muslin cloths for the UK beauty industry, kicking off a new specialty for the business. Our food industry customer base continued to grow.

1995

We expanded into the property next door, increasing office and warehouse space to accommodate the growing business.

2007

The beauty business product offering grew to include dual cloths and specialist flannels.

2015

We rebranded from A Holt & Sons to HOLTs. Our mission - to harness our expertise in textiles to offer a more sustainable option to our customers and, through our long-term partnerships, advocate for positive social and environmental change.

2021

The team

Simon grew up in the family business and unloaded his first lorry at age 14.

Simon
Owner & Director

Anna is the go-to person for info on sustainability, from bioplastics to green energy, there’s nothing she won’t sink her teeth into.

Anna
Co-Director

Isabel LOVES a process, she keeps the team running smoothly and on track.

Isabel
Managing Director

Ieuan started in the warehouse packing our Food orders and now uses his sharp, analytical mind to expertly navigate Excel (like Spiderman swinging through New York City on his PS5).

Ieuan
Supply Chain Manager

Anila oversees the Operations across HOLTs so has a lot of weight on her shoulders – and not just when she’s weightlifting at the gym!

Anila
Operations Director

Dolly is a giant schnauzer who loves to test spare cloths for their tear strength.

Dolly
Security

The newest member of the HOLTs family, Pippi is a giant schnauzer puppy, when she isnt biting shoes she loves having a cuddle.

Pippi
Chief of Cuddles

Ludo is a mini schnauzer who will eat anything he can find, including the snacks stolen from your bag.

Ludo
2010 – 2022

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