Abram Lyle

Abram Lyle (14 December 1820 – 30 April 1891) was a Scottish food manufacturer and politician, who is noted for founding the sugar refiners Abram Lyle & Sons in 1887, which merged with the company of his rival Henry Tate to become Tate & Lyle in 1921. Early life He was born on 14 December 1820 in the seaport of Greenock, Renfrewshire, in Scotland, and at twelve years old became an apprentice in a lawyer's office. He then joined his father's cooperage businesses and in partnership with a friend, John Kerr, developed a shipping business, making the Lyle fleet one of the largest in Greenock. The area was heavily involved in the sugar trade with the West Indies, and his business included transporting sugar. Sugar refining Together with four partners he purchased the sugar house of the defunct Greenock Sugar Refining Company in 1865, forming the Glebe Sugar Refinery Company, and so added sugar refining to his other business interests. When John Kerr, the principal partner, died in 1872, Lyle sold his shares and began the search for a site for a new refinery.