Rentokil Initial PLC

Rentokil Initial, also known simply as Rentokil, is a British services company, specialising in pest control products. The company was founded in 1925 by Harold Maxwell-Lefroy, a professor at Imperial College London. Rentokil became the largest provider of pest control services in India, due to a merger with PCI in 2017. The company was purchased in 1957 by British Ratin, with new ownership electing to keep the Rentokil name. Rentokil, a veteran of the London Stock Exchange, listed back in 1969. The company is also part of the FTSE 100 Index. Rentokil stock, traded as RTO.L, achieved marvellous growth during the 90s, almost 20% annually. This impressive result is one of the reasons the company was named “Britain’s most admired company” during this period. The origins of Rentokil are both interesting and depressing. Founder of Rentokil, college professor Harold Maxwell-Lefroy, essentially started the business by developing a concoction to kill deathwatch beetles in the Palace of Westminster. Later that year, Maxwell-Lefroy was tragically killed in his laboratory due to poisonous fumes from one of his own experiments. His assistant, Elizabeth Eades, continued his work, helping to guide the company to where it is today. Learn more about RTO.L stock. Find out what the community thinks on the eToro platform.