Historic Lloyds Building in Colombo

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The Lloyd’s Building in Colombo, originally known as the Freudenberg Building, is one of the finest examples of colonial-era commercial architecture in the city. Completed in 1908, this imposing five-story Georgian-style structure stands on Sir Baron Jayathilaka Mawatha (formerly Prince Street) and represents the wave of grand buildings that rose at the turn of the 20th century, when Colombo was transforming into a thriving commercial hub of the British Empire.

Designed by architect Edward Skinner and built by Clifford Lake and Company, the building features elegant marble corridors, richly decorated conference rooms, ornate woodwork, classical motifs, and a striking exterior, symbolizing the prosperity and confidence of early 20th-century Ceylon.

The Era of Freudenberg & Co

The land for the project was acquired at the high price of LKR 550,000 per acre (Denham, 1912, p.134), and was named after its chief occupant, Freudenberg & Co., a powerful German trading firm founded by Philipp Freudenberg in 1873. Freudenberg came to Ceylon to develop direct trade between the island and the European continent, especially after the opening of the Suez Canal made Colombo a vital shipping port. Philipp Freudenberg also served as the Imperial German Consul from 1876 to 1905.

According to Geiger (1898), Freudenberg was one of the most respected personalities in Colombo society and was renowned for his hospitality at his Cinnamon Gardens residence, Sirinivesa, considered one of the most elegant bungalows in Colombo.

As coffee declined, Freudenberg & Co. diversified into banking, imports and exports, oil milling, and warehousing. The firm owned the Hultsdorf Oil Mills and Kotahena Stores, represented major shipping lines such as Norddeutscher Lloyd and Deutsche Ost-Africa Linie, and acted as correspondent for leading German banks (Wright, 1907/2004, p. 429).

The Impact of World War I

With the outbreak of World War I, the fortunes of Freudenberg & Co. dramatically changed. The German Consulate in the building was closed in 1915, and in 1917, under Britain’s Enemy Firms Liquidation Ordinance No. 20 of 1915, Freudenberg & Co. and its assets were liquidated. (The Statist, 1917, p. 432)

That year, tenders were called for the sale of the building, which was purchased by Aitken Spence & Co., agents of Lloyd’s of London.

Colombo newspapers recorded that symbolic features of German ownership—such as the eagles carved above the doorway—were forcibly removed by locals and thrown into the harbour. The nameplate Freudenberg Building was also taken down, leaving behind only a commemorative stone in German lettering on the façade.

Freudenberg’s Building, now the property of Messrs Aitken Spence & Co., is gradually being shorn of all traces of Teutonic Possession.
There was a very strong feeling in Colombo shortly after the outbreak of war that the eagles were no longer entitled to a perch over the main doorway of the building. The feeling grew in strength until one night the eagles were removed from the building and deposited in the harbour.
Last week with the change in ownership, the name of Freudenberg building, which appeared on the portion at the entrance to Messrs. Whiteaway, Laidlaw & Company was removed and its place taken by a blank piece of red material, doubtless in due course to give way to the new name of the handsome building when this has been decided upon. There is still another trace of its past German ownership—the commemoration stone on the wall facing Prince Street, with soile German lettering. Perhaps Messrs. Aitken Spence & Co., will see that this too is obliterated.
(“Extract From Times of Ceylon Dated 3rd May 1917,” 1968)

The building was immediately renamed the Lloyd’s Building.

By 1917, the building had already become a hub for prominent companies and institutions. Tenants included the Colombo Apothecaries Co. Ltd., Shanghai Life Insurance Co., Standard Oil Company of New York, C.W. Mackie & Co., Morrison and Bell, Clark Young & Co., The Vacuum Oil Company, and even the Consul of the United States of America. (Daily News, 2011)

Shifting Ownership Over the Decades

In 1933, the joint owners Walter Edward Moncrieff Peterson, Henry Seymour Jeaffreson, Basil Walter Cuthbert Leefe, and Ian Woodford Aitken sold the building to Ceylon and General Properties Ltd. In 1950, ownership passed to Badrawathie Fernando Estate Ltd., and in 1957 to United Ceylon Insurance Co. Ltd., which managed the building as business premises for more than 50 years. (Daily News, 2011)

Decline and Revival

By the early 2000s, the building had become dilapidated. In 2009, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka purchased the property and, after a comprehensive restoration, reopened it for operations in 2011. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka is currently occupying this building.

References

Denham, E. B. (1912). Ceylon at the Census of 1911: Being the Review of the Results of the Census of 1911 (1st ed.). H. R. Cottle, Government Printer of Ceylon.
Wright, A. (2004). Twentieth Century Impressions of Ceylon: Its History, People, Commerce, Industries, and Resources (1st ed.). Asian Educational Services. (Original work published 1907)
Geiger, W. (1898). Ceylon: Tagebuchblätter und Reiseerinnerungen (1st ed.). C. W. Kreidel’s Verlag.
The Statist: Vol. 90 (1). (1917). United Kingdom.
Daily News. (2011, June 1). Newly restored Lloyd’s Building opens for business today. Daily News. Retrieved September 5, 2025, from https://archives.dailynews.lk/2011/06/01/bus15.asp

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