Shares in part payment of the purchase money for the business. The directors were: William Henry Budgett (WHB, son of the founder) and William Edward, James Herbert and Charles Theodore Budgett, all sons of WHB. The Prospectus said the firm had been in existence for over 100 years, currently with “some four thousand regular and continuous customers”. Assets were: Book Debts, guaranteed by the vendors: £54,645, Stock-in-trade £32,571, Premises, Plant, Fixtures, etc. £44,938, less trade liabilities £67,601, net surplus £64,555. The Auditors: Ogden, Palmer and Langton, Austinfriars, London said they had audited seven years of accounts and the net average annual profits were sufficient to pay the interest on the issue of Preference Shares several times over. Business returns were practically uniform and, as the sales were spread over a great number of customers, the risk of loss by bad debts was exceptionally small relative to the large annual trade. The average profit for the previous three financial years had been higher than any previous similar average and the profit for 1896/7 was the highest of the seven years under review. The seven years of accounts were presumably 1890/1 to 1896/7. In the last section we noted that Samuel Arnold and Walter Felix Budgett started trading on 1 January 1891. Presumably Samuel Jr.'s debts were transferred out of Budgetts in 1890 so that the auditors wouldn't have to report them. The surveyors, J.P.Sturge & Sons, reported two buildings: “the commanding premises” at the corner of Nelson-street and Bridewell-street, leased from Bristol Corporation for 75 years from 1879 at £600 per year, and the adjoining premises, leased by two leases from the corporation for 40 years from 1898 for £10 16s and £16 4s respectively, renewable every 14 years in perpetuity. Part of this building was sublet to J. S. Fry & Sons and part to Lever & Co. In 1900, WHB died, leaving the business to the sons mentioned above. Another son, John Samuel Budgett, chose instead to be a zoologist. Later Developments In 1913, there was a fire at the Bristol premises beginning at 7 am on a Saturday. It took six hours to bring it under control. No one was injured. The books and the horses were rescued as before. The loss of £20,000 was fully covered by insurance. The business was carried on in the old portion of the building which was undamaged. In 1920 154,500 Preference