The Central Research Laboratories, often referred to as CRL, was a British research laboratory that originally belonged to the EMI Corporation.
History
During the period of 1927–29 EMI invested in developing a research and innovation centre that arguably set the tone for many of the technological advancements that would occur over the next 80 years in the UK and was held in extremely high regard globally.
After years operating in central London and across various greater London locations, a new company site was built in the 1980s in Hayes, Middlesex. Hayes was often referred to as EMI Town, due to the presence of various company businesses, including the Gramophone Company HQ, which later became known as HMV. The lab's first director was Isaac Shoenberg, a pioneer of television.[2]
In 1996 the company formally became known as CRL Ltd after a management buy-out, in which EMI retained a nominal ownership.
The company's business model became that of an incubator, that effectively funded innovations and research projects and once the products became 'viable', they were established into standalone subsidiary companies, that typically continued to operate out of their HQ office.
In the year 2000, the company floated under a new parent company name Scipher Plc, which for the next two years was the UK's most admired and valuable tech stock on the FTSE 250 index