House of Prince
A Danish cigarette manufacturer associated with the Prince cigarette brand and the former cigarette-manufacturing operations of Scandinavian Tobacco Company.
Last updated August 24, 2026
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Overview
House of Prince A/S was a Danish cigarette manufacturer and the corporate home of cigarette-tobacco manufacturing within the reconstructed Scandinavian Tobacco Company. Its history is closely linked to the Prince cigarette, launched in Denmark in 1957, and to a manufacturing plant in Søborg whose industrial history began with construction in 1951. The company was established in its modern organizational form in 1990, during a restructuring of Scandinavian Tobacco Company, bringing the group’s cigarette production activities together under House of Prince. The company occupied an unusually important position in Denmark’s tobacco industry. It was described as Denmark’s only cigarette manufacturer and supplied the overwhelming majority of the Danish cigarette market. Reference material reports that House of Prince supplied approximately 95% of the Danish market and around 37% of the broader Scandinavian market. The Prince brand itself was reported to hold approximately 34% of the Danish cigarette market and 42% of the Norwegian market. These figures describe the company and brand’s historical market position rather than a current market share. House of Prince’s primary business was the manufacture and distribution of cigarettes and related tobacco products. Its best-known offering was Prince, a mass-market cigarette brand launched in 1957. Production also extended across other cigarette brands associated with House of Prince, although the available reference material does not provide a complete brand portfolio. The Søborg factory was reported to have produced approximately 60 million cigarettes per day at its peak or during the period described by the reference material. The plant closed in 2011, marking the end of the company’s historically significant Danish cigarette-manufacturing base. The business also expanded outside Denmark. In December 1992, House of Prince established SIA House of Prince Riga, a joint Latvian-Danish company, and acquired a stake in the state-owned Riga Tobacco Factory. It became the factory’s sole owner in 2001. The Latvian operation was renamed Scandinavian Tobacco SIA in 2003 and SIA British American Tobacco Latvia in 2008. The Riga factory, whose industrial origins dated to the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, was ultimately announced for closure in July 2009. House of Prince was an independent subsidiary of Scandinavian Tobacco Company until its sale to British American Tobacco in 2008. The transaction changed the company’s corporate affiliation and placed its activities within BAT’s regional tobacco structure. The available material does not establish whether House of Prince continued as a distinct operating company after the 2011 closure of the Søborg factory, so its present legal and operating status is best treated as uncertain. Historically, however, it was a major Danish tobacco manufacturer whose importance rested on domestic production, the Prince brand, and a dominant position in Denmark’s cigarette market.
History
House of Prince’s corporate history dates to 1990, when Scandinavian Tobacco Company was reorganized and its cigarette-tobacco manufacturing activities were placed within House of Prince A/S. The company inherited a production tradition centered on a factory in Søborg, Denmark. That facility had been built in 1951 and became the company’s principal Danish manufacturing site. Its industrial role was connected to the Prince cigarette, which had first been launched in 1957. During its operating period, House of Prince was identified as Denmark’s only cigarette manufacturer and became one of the country’s most important tobacco businesses. The Søborg plant was reported to have produced approximately 60 million cigarettes daily. House of Prince supplied about 95% of the Danish cigarette market and approximately 37% of the Scandinavian market, while the Prince brand was reported to account for roughly 34% of the Danish market and 42% of the Norwegian market. These figures illustrate the company’s historical scale, although the available sources do not provide a continuous series of market-share data. The company developed an international presence through Latvia. In December 1992, it formed SIA House of Prince Riga as a Latvian-Danish joint company and acquired an interest in the state-owned Riga Tobacco Factory. House of Prince became the sole owner in 2001. The Latvian company was renamed Scandinavian Tobacco SIA in 2003 and SIA British American Tobacco Latvia in 2008. The Riga factory had a much older industrial history: it had been founded in the nineteenth century, expanded through a factory building completed in 1912, and nationalized during the Soviet occupation in 1940. Its closure was announced in July 2009. In 2008, Scandinavian Tobacco Company sold House of Prince to British American Tobacco. This was the decisive corporate transition in the company’s recent history, moving the Danish cigarette operation from Scandinavian Tobacco Company into BAT’s ownership. The transaction also corresponded with the renaming of the Latvian successor business as SIA British American Tobacco Latvia. The Søborg factory closed in 2011. The closure ended the company’s historically documented Danish manufacturing activity, but the available reference material does not clarify whether House of Prince A/S itself was dissolved, retained as a legal entity, or absorbed into another BAT company. For that reason, the brand and company’s current status cannot be stated with confidence. Its documented historical identity remains that of a Danish cigarette manufacturer built around domestic production and the Prince cigarette brand.
- 2011
Søborg factory closed
[1]The company’s long-standing Danish cigarette factory in Søborg closed.
- 2009
Riga factory closure announced
[1]Closure of the Riga tobacco factory was announced.
- 2008
Sold to British American Tobacco
[1]House of Prince was sold by Scandinavian Tobacco Company to British American Tobacco.
- 2003
Riga operation renamed Scandinavian Tobacco SIA
[1]The Latvian subsidiary was renamed Scandinavian Tobacco SIA.
- 2001
Riga Tobacco Factory becomes wholly owned
[1]House of Prince acquired sole ownership of the Riga Tobacco Factory.
- 1992
Latvian joint company established
[1]SIA House of Prince Riga was established as a Latvian-Danish joint company.
- 1990
House of Prince established in Scandinavian Tobacco restructuring
[1]House of Prince was formed during the reconstruction of Scandinavian Tobacco Company to contain its cigarette-tobacco manufacturing operations.
- 1957
Prince cigarette launched
[1]The Prince cigarette brand was introduced in Denmark and later became House of Prince’s best-known offering.
- 1951
Søborg factory built
[1]The factory in Søborg, Denmark, later associated with House of Prince’s cigarette production, was built.
Products and positioning
Mass-market cigarette manufacturer and dominant Danish tobacco supplier
Cigarettes · 1957
Prince
Prince was launched in 1957 and became the best-known cigarette brand associated with House of Prince. It occupied a leading position in Denmark and was also reported to have substantial market share in Norway. The available reference material does not specify the complete range of variants, packaging formats, or current availability.
Cigarettes
House of Prince cigarette portfolio
House of Prince manufactured cigarettes and other cigarette tobacco products for the Danish and Scandinavian markets. Reference material indicates that the company produced multiple cigarette brands, but it does not provide a sufficiently complete list to identify them individually without speculation.
Brand decisions
2011
Closure of the Søborg manufacturing plantStrategyBackground
The Søborg factory had been the central Danish production site associated with House of Prince and had reportedly produced approximately 60 million cigarettes daily.
Action taken
The factory was closed.
Aftermath
The closure ended the company’s historically documented Danish cigarette-manufacturing activity, although the sources do not explain the full operational or legal consequences for House of Prince A/S.
2008
Sale to British American TobaccoM&ABackground
House of Prince had operated as an independent subsidiary of Scandinavian Tobacco Company and was part of the company’s cigarette-manufacturing structure.
Action taken
Scandinavian Tobacco Company sold House of Prince to British American Tobacco.
Aftermath
The company entered BAT’s ownership, and the Latvian successor operation was renamed SIA British American Tobacco Latvia. The later legal status of House of Prince as a distinct entity is not established by the available material.
Recent events
- 2011
Søborg cigarette factory closes[1]
Other
The House of Prince cigarette factory in Søborg, Denmark, closed after serving as a major Danish cigarette-manufacturing site.
- 2009
Riga tobacco factory closure announced[1]
Other
The tobacco factory in Riga associated with House of Prince and its successor corporate structures was announced for closure.
- 2008
British American Tobacco acquires House of Prince[1]
M&A
House of Prince was sold by Scandinavian Tobacco Company to British American Tobacco, changing the company’s ownership and corporate affiliation.
Sources1 sources
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