The business was founded in 1900 by the late Mr. Charles William Mackie, a Scotsman, to engage in the activities of Merchants and Commission Agents under the name C. W. Mackie & Company.

In 1922, the business was incorporated as a private limited liability company, and the members of the Mackie family conducted the business up to 1946, when a consortium of Ceylonese and Indian businessmen bought over the shares of the Company and converted to a Public Company.