Hunters & Frankau
Company-provided description, not an official-source fact. Certifications, capacities, years and market positions stated in it are the company's own claims until a record below confirms them.
Importer and distributor of fine cigars to the UK trade
Hunters & Frankau is a London based importer and distributor of fine cigars, including a wide Havana cigar portfolio, to the UK tobacco trade. It supplies tobacconists and retailers through a dedicated trade resource portal.
- Type
- distributor (our classification of the record, not a statement by the company)
- Role
- Distributor (official record)
- Location
- London, United Kingdom
- Founded
- 1886 (matches the state register)
- Website
- https://cigars.co.uk
- Categories
- Tobacco & Smoking Products
- Markets
- United Kingdom
What is established and what is not
No researcher review has been written for this company yet. 6 official records from 3 official sources are on file. 5 other entries are not official records: our own technical checks and searches, open directory listings, our inferences or the company's own statements. Everything is listed below with its evidence type: each entry confirms only what it literally says; none of them is a review. The trading role above rests on the official records listed below, and only as far as each literally goes. Nothing here confirms manufacturing or ownership beyond what each record literally says.
Facts on file, each with its evidence type
- First recorded on the web archive (record type: web-presence-since) [our own observation, not an official record; status green] The company website was already online in 2003. Shows a web archive saw a page at this address on that date. It does not show who ran the site then. checked 2026-08-02. Internet Archive (Wayback)
- Licensed to sponsor foreign workers (record type: licensed-sponsor) [official record; status green] The interior ministry vetted this employer and licensed it to hire from abroad; a shell company does not hold such a licence. checked 2026-08-12. UK Home Office register of licensed sponsors (workers)
- Website domain registered (record type: domain-registered) [our own observation, not an official record; status green] Shows how long this web address has been registered. That is the age of the domain, not of the company: a domain can change owners. checked 2026-08-28. Domain registry record
- Business email on the company's own domain (record type: corporate-mail-on-domain) [our own observation, not an official record; status green] Shows the domain runs its own email rather than a free mailbox. It describes the domain, not who owns it. checked 2026-08-28. Mail server of the company domain
- No match found on the sanctions lists we checked (record type: sanctions-clear) [our own observation, not an official record; name search, no matching candidate] We searched the public sanctions datasets and found no matching candidate. A name search is not full compliance screening. checked 2026-08-28. OpenSanctions
- No match found in the debarment registers we checked (record type: debarment-clear) [our own observation, not an official record; name search, no matching candidate] We searched the public debarment datasets and found no matching candidate. Absence from these lists is a search result, not a certificate. checked 2026-08-28. OpenSanctions
- On the company register (record type: registered-since) [official record; status green] On the company register since 1886-02-10. Shows how long the company has been on the state register, which is hard to fake and easy to check. effective since 1886-02-10. Companies House free company data product (UK)
- Trade role recorded in the register (record type: registered-trade-role) [official record; status green] The state register itself records whether the company sells wholesale, retails, or acts as an agent - not a claim the company made about itself. effective since 2026-08-01. Companies House free company data product (UK)
- Named directors on file (record type: directors-on-file) [official record; status green] 8 directors on file. The register names the people who run the company, so there is someone answerable if something goes wrong. checked 2026-06-20. Companies House
- Active in the UK registry (record type: ch-active) [official record; status green] The national company register still lists it as active. checked 2026-06-20. Companies House
- Registered for trade, not manufacturing (record type: registered-trade-only) [official record; status amber] Indicates the register lists trade, not production. checked 2026-06-20. Companies House
Relationships
1 relationship(s) on file. Each line names the other party, the relationship as its source records it, and the source. A record of a relationship is not a finding about control beyond what it literally says.
Recorded in a source
- 8 more officer(s), not named in the record: Officer in the register. Companies House
Import rules for these goods
- Tobacco products for the EU market must be notified through the EU Common Entry Gate (EU-CEG) before sale, with ingredient and emission reporting. European Commission (tobacco)
Check independently
Before a first order, ask whose products they sell and on what basis: a distribution agreement or the manufacturer's authorisation.