This paper reports findings from the Oxford Growth of Firms project on the ownership and control position of the largest 250 U.K. companies and, in more detail, that of a sample of 21 of these large firms. An analysis is made of the social and economic historical context in which most of today's large firms grew up. A theoretical model is developed of the stages of control through which firms are likely to pass. It is suggested that most firms are unlikely ever to become controlled by their own professional managers and that there is a trend toward firms being controlled by financial institutions. Evidence is then put forward, from an analysis of the current control position of the top 250 U.K. firms and from brief histories of the 21 sample large firms, which supports the previously outlined theory.
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