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E. P. Taylor
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E. P. Taylor
Edward Plunket Taylor, CMG (January 29, 1901 – May 14, 1989), was a Canadian business tycoon, investor, and philanthropist. He was a famous breeder of Thoroughbred race horses, and a major force behind the evolution of the Canadian horse-racing industry. Known to his friends as "Eddie," he is all but universally recorded as "E. P. Taylor".
Taylor was the first child of Plunket Bourchier Taylor and Florence Magee Taylor. Taylor attended Ashbury College and Ottawa Collegiate. During World War I, his father enlisted and the family moved to London, England. After Taylor attempted several times to join the British Army, his father sent him back to Ottawa to live with his grandfather Charles Magee, a wealthy Ottawa businessman. The time spent with Magee had a profound influence on Taylor, who decided he wanted to be successful in business like Magee. In 1918, Taylor moved to Montreal to attend McGill University, having to work part-time to pay his way. That fall, Taylor's studies were interrupted when McGill closed during the Spanish flu pandemic. Returning the next winter, Taylor graduated in 1922 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering.
While studying at McGill, Taylor patented an electric toaster design that browned both sides of the bread simultaneously. At that time, toasters toasted only one side of the bread. Taylor sold the patent for a royalty of 40 cents on every toaster to the Thomas Davidson Manufacturing Co. of Montreal. Taylor decided during college that he did not want to pursue engineering, finding that he was more interested in business and economics. After graduation, Taylor returned to Ottawa, where he and Lawrie Hart operated a two-vehicle bus line between Westboro and Ottawa. Taylor and Hart sold the bus line after a year, and Taylor joined the investment brokerage firm of McLeod Young Weir (now ScotiaMcLeod) that his father worked for.
In 1926, Taylor met Winifred Duguid while at a social event at the Chaudiere Golf Club. They were married on June 15, 1927, at Christ Church Cathedral in Ottawa, honeymooned in Lake Placid, and settled into their first residence at the Strathcona Apartments on Laurier Avenue in Ottawa.
Taylor's grandfather Charles Magee was a successful businessman in Ottawa, holding interests in brewing, dry goods, and transportation. Magee died in 1918, leaving the family businesses to his brother and his daughters Carrie and Taylor's mother. In 1923, Taylor was made a director of the Brading Brewery, one of the family businesses, and which his father was president. On the side of selling securities and the brewing business, Taylor organized the Red Line Taxi Company in 1923. Like the bus line, it was sold after a year. That established the pattern in business that Taylor would follow, conceiving and developing ideas, and then persuading others to buy them. Taylor remained with McLeod, Young, Weir and became a partner in 1928. In 1928, Taylor and Winifred moved to Toronto, getting an apartment on University Avenue, conveniently close to the McLeod, Young, Weir offices in the Metropolitan Building.
In the 1920s, Brading Brewery was limited by temperance laws. While it operated in Ontario, it could sell only into Quebec. That changed in 1927, when the Conservative government in Ontario ended prohibition. At the suggestion of Taylor, the company "traded on its equity" and rebuilt its plant, modernizing it and increasing capacity by 50%. Taylor studied the brewing business in Ontario. In 1928, there were 37 breweries. They operated at below capacity and many were in need of modernization. They were not profitable in general and had only CA$12 million in sales on assets of CA$24 million. Quebec was dominated by three breweries; one of them, National Breweries, had consolidated 14 breweries that had operated before World War I. Taylor proposed a similar strategy to Brading's board of directors: acquire and merge with successful breweries in Ontario, and acquire and close other breweries to bring under its control some 70% of the volume of beer sold in Ontario.
The stock market crash of 1929 affected Taylor in two ways. On the one hand, the underwriting business virtually ceased. However, it left Taylor free to pursue the brewery acquisition plan although now Taylor could offer only Brading Brewery shares in its acquisitions. Taylor fortuitously met Clark Jennison, who was acting for British interests interested in investing in Canadian breweries at the same time and had CA$500,000 to invest. The two incorporated a new firm, Brewing Corporation of Ontario, and merged the Brading and Kuntz breweries and the British interests into common and preferred shares. Another company, Canadian Brewery Corporation Limited, had also begun acquiring breweries in Ontario. Taylor approached the company and successfully negotiated a merger in 1930. Later in 1930, Taylor successfully took over the Carling Brewery, which had become majority-owned by the Dominion Bank, for CA$600,000 repayable at $100,000 per year. In all, Taylor merged more than 20 other small breweries into Canadian Breweries Limited, which grew to be the world's largest brewing company. Taylor would eventually gain operating control of the holding company.
Taylor described his consolidation approach as "trading pieces of paper for other pieces of paper." At times, he was so cash poor that a legend had him passing cheques back and forth between two bank accounts in Montreal and Toronto to meet payroll. He later recalled it as "a period of hectic finance." His liquidity situation eased after prohibition ended. After 1934, Taylor implemented a number of changes to make the brewing sales and marketing respectable by firing the old-school "runners" who profited by selling to bootleggers and replacing them with salesmen who were encouraged to become community leaders. He also consolidated the number of brands offered from over 100 to just six.
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E. P. Taylor
Edward Plunket Taylor, CMG (January 29, 1901 – May 14, 1989), was a Canadian business tycoon, investor, and philanthropist. He was a famous breeder of Thoroughbred race horses, and a major force behind the evolution of the Canadian horse-racing industry. Known to his friends as "Eddie," he is all but universally recorded as "E. P. Taylor".
Taylor was the first child of Plunket Bourchier Taylor and Florence Magee Taylor. Taylor attended Ashbury College and Ottawa Collegiate. During World War I, his father enlisted and the family moved to London, England. After Taylor attempted several times to join the British Army, his father sent him back to Ottawa to live with his grandfather Charles Magee, a wealthy Ottawa businessman. The time spent with Magee had a profound influence on Taylor, who decided he wanted to be successful in business like Magee. In 1918, Taylor moved to Montreal to attend McGill University, having to work part-time to pay his way. That fall, Taylor's studies were interrupted when McGill closed during the Spanish flu pandemic. Returning the next winter, Taylor graduated in 1922 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering.
While studying at McGill, Taylor patented an electric toaster design that browned both sides of the bread simultaneously. At that time, toasters toasted only one side of the bread. Taylor sold the patent for a royalty of 40 cents on every toaster to the Thomas Davidson Manufacturing Co. of Montreal. Taylor decided during college that he did not want to pursue engineering, finding that he was more interested in business and economics. After graduation, Taylor returned to Ottawa, where he and Lawrie Hart operated a two-vehicle bus line between Westboro and Ottawa. Taylor and Hart sold the bus line after a year, and Taylor joined the investment brokerage firm of McLeod Young Weir (now ScotiaMcLeod) that his father worked for.
In 1926, Taylor met Winifred Duguid while at a social event at the Chaudiere Golf Club. They were married on June 15, 1927, at Christ Church Cathedral in Ottawa, honeymooned in Lake Placid, and settled into their first residence at the Strathcona Apartments on Laurier Avenue in Ottawa.
Taylor's grandfather Charles Magee was a successful businessman in Ottawa, holding interests in brewing, dry goods, and transportation. Magee died in 1918, leaving the family businesses to his brother and his daughters Carrie and Taylor's mother. In 1923, Taylor was made a director of the Brading Brewery, one of the family businesses, and which his father was president. On the side of selling securities and the brewing business, Taylor organized the Red Line Taxi Company in 1923. Like the bus line, it was sold after a year. That established the pattern in business that Taylor would follow, conceiving and developing ideas, and then persuading others to buy them. Taylor remained with McLeod, Young, Weir and became a partner in 1928. In 1928, Taylor and Winifred moved to Toronto, getting an apartment on University Avenue, conveniently close to the McLeod, Young, Weir offices in the Metropolitan Building.
In the 1920s, Brading Brewery was limited by temperance laws. While it operated in Ontario, it could sell only into Quebec. That changed in 1927, when the Conservative government in Ontario ended prohibition. At the suggestion of Taylor, the company "traded on its equity" and rebuilt its plant, modernizing it and increasing capacity by 50%. Taylor studied the brewing business in Ontario. In 1928, there were 37 breweries. They operated at below capacity and many were in need of modernization. They were not profitable in general and had only CA$12 million in sales on assets of CA$24 million. Quebec was dominated by three breweries; one of them, National Breweries, had consolidated 14 breweries that had operated before World War I. Taylor proposed a similar strategy to Brading's board of directors: acquire and merge with successful breweries in Ontario, and acquire and close other breweries to bring under its control some 70% of the volume of beer sold in Ontario.
The stock market crash of 1929 affected Taylor in two ways. On the one hand, the underwriting business virtually ceased. However, it left Taylor free to pursue the brewery acquisition plan although now Taylor could offer only Brading Brewery shares in its acquisitions. Taylor fortuitously met Clark Jennison, who was acting for British interests interested in investing in Canadian breweries at the same time and had CA$500,000 to invest. The two incorporated a new firm, Brewing Corporation of Ontario, and merged the Brading and Kuntz breweries and the British interests into common and preferred shares. Another company, Canadian Brewery Corporation Limited, had also begun acquiring breweries in Ontario. Taylor approached the company and successfully negotiated a merger in 1930. Later in 1930, Taylor successfully took over the Carling Brewery, which had become majority-owned by the Dominion Bank, for CA$600,000 repayable at $100,000 per year. In all, Taylor merged more than 20 other small breweries into Canadian Breweries Limited, which grew to be the world's largest brewing company. Taylor would eventually gain operating control of the holding company.
Taylor described his consolidation approach as "trading pieces of paper for other pieces of paper." At times, he was so cash poor that a legend had him passing cheques back and forth between two bank accounts in Montreal and Toronto to meet payroll. He later recalled it as "a period of hectic finance." His liquidity situation eased after prohibition ended. After 1934, Taylor implemented a number of changes to make the brewing sales and marketing respectable by firing the old-school "runners" who profited by selling to bootleggers and replacing them with salesmen who were encouraged to become community leaders. He also consolidated the number of brands offered from over 100 to just six.
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