Rag and bone merchants mark 80th anniversary in Peterborough with move online

C F Gill & Son, which has been based in Bedford Street for the entire 80 years, has effectively done away with cash payments as it tackles new regulations and changing customer habits.

Instead, with the help of Barclays bank, the business has adopted electronic banking with most transactions now done through online and mobile banking channels.

Mark Gill, great-grandson of the original founder, said: “Over the years we have had to deal with numerous changes in legislation, but have always managed to serve our customers continuously through those challenges.

“We can’t quite believe we have reached 80 years in business – something of which we are very proud.

“We would like to thank our customers for their support and loyalty without which we certainly would not have reached this landmark.”

The rag and bone operation was set up in 1938 by the late Dan Gill and initially the site was used to house pigs but the family soon started to collect scrap, which led to the birth of the current scrap metal business.

There have been five generations of the Gill family working in the business and today it is run by three members of the family, Brian, Mark and Charlie.

Alex Spires, Barclays’ relationship manager in Peterborough, said: “Barclays has supported the Gill family business from the very first day of trading.

“In the last 10 years, there has been a need to modernise their payment systems to create good audit trails and this has been achieved through electronic and digital banking channels.

“Re-cycling of metal waste is an important sector that will help to safeguard the environment and generations to come.”