The parent company, A.C.Gill Limited was originally started in 1888 and became a Limited Liability company in 1915.

The company flourished, growing in size through both sales achievement and acquisitions, culminating in 1938 in the acquisition of a large warehouse in the centre of the Nottingham Lace Market.

During World War Two all production switched to the war effort and included the making of one million small parachutes as well as mosquito nets, Admiralty flags, target nets for the RAF and in a new engineering section, bomb parts.

From 1946 further rapid expansion ensued, including the building of another new factory and the acquisition of lace factories. For very many years A. C. Gill Limited had also been associated with the manufacture of hairnets this involvement was strengthened when in 1979 they acquired the business of a former competitor creating the “Lion Haircare” Division.

In 2000, the Lace Market site was sold and all the company’s satellite sites were combined in the modern Willow Road factory. This led to huge improvements in productivity for all the divisions under the new NOTTINGHAM TEXTILE GROUP banner.