DIRECTORS of Trafalgar House might think it somewhat ironic that Hongkong Land now controls their company.
What has been described as probably the worst property crash since the war in Britain - and almost as bad a situation in the United States - has seen Trafalgar write off GBP138 million (about HK$1.6 billion) in 1992, with more to come this year.
Once the third largest engineering firm in the world, it is now known as the ''once great Trafalgar House''.
History has turned on the company. Hongkong Land, which controls Trafalgar House through its 25 per cent holding, was once in a similar position.
The 1982-83 Hongkong property crash left Land $19 billion in debt, forcing it to sell off almost everything it had in order to survive. The ''then great'' Trafalgar House helped out, buying 50 per cent of Land's wholly-owned Gammon Construction.
Land directors and Trafalgar board members have come together again. This time, though, it is a permanent marriage. Simon Keswick is now chairman of both companies and there are three other Jardine men on Trafalgar's board.