The East India Company – once the most powerful commercial enterprise in the world – has shut down again. Its modern revival as a London luxury retailer, owned by Indian entrepreneur Sanjiv Mehta, has gone into liquidation. The company appointed liquidators in October 2025.
Here’s a more detailed insight.
A British trading corporation founded in 1600, it grew from a spice-trading outfit into a corporate-state hybrid that administered large parts of India. At its peak, it reportedly commanded armies of around 260,000 soldiers – twice the size of the British Army at the time.
After the 1857 Rebellion, the British Crown took direct control of India. The Company was formally dissolved on June 1, 1874.
Mumbai-born British businessman Sanjiv…