Francis Levett

Who was Francis Levett?

Francis Levett was an early London merchant who, in partnership with his brother Sir Richard Levett, Lord Mayor of London, built an early trading empire, importing and distributing tobacco and other commodities. He served as warden of the Worshipful Company of Mercers.

Francis and his brother Sir Richard, who served as Master of the Haberdashers' Company, were among the largest factors of their day in England, with an immense working capital estimated between £30,000 and £40,000 in 1705, buying tobacco around the world for importation into the English market. Francis Levett served as a partner in the trading firm of Sir Richard Levett & Co.

The Levett brothers were called haberdashers, a term which formerly meant merchants who traded commodities and acted as venture capitalists as well as those who dealt in textiles. Once they had imported tobacco and other goods, the Levetts distributed the commodities to their 'chapmen' across the country through fairs, including those at Lenton, Gainsborough, Boston, Lincolnshire, and Beverley. Francis Levett's brother Richard's home was located close by the Haberdashers Hall in Cripplegate.

The Levetts were among the earliest English merchants to vertically integrate their trading empire, owning their own ships to transport the goods they sold. Their trading extended as far afield as Turkey and India, where they had interests in the early London East India Company, to North America, Portugal, Africa and elsewhere.