John Holt was an English merchant, who founded a shipping line operating between Liverpool

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

 and West Africa

West Africa

West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...

, and a number of businesses in Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

, which are now incorporated in John Holt plc

John Holt Plc

John Holt plc is a Nigerian conglomerate. It has been an important participant in many areas of the economy. The Nigerian company is a subsidiary of John Holt & Co. Ltd, a United Kingdom company...

.

Holt was born in Garthorpe

Garthorpe, North Lincolnshire

Garthorpe is a village located in the Isle of Axholme, in North Lincolnshire, England. Together with Fockerby, which is contiguous with the village, Garthorpe forms a civil parish of about 500 inhabitants.- History :...

, Lincolnshire

Lincolnshire

Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...

 in 1841. In 1862, with £27 in his pocket, he sailed from Liverpool

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

 to take up an appointment as a shop assistant in a grocery store

Grocery store

A grocery store is a store that retails food. A grocer, the owner of a grocery store, stocks different kinds of foods from assorted places and cultures, and sells these "groceries" to customers. Large grocery stores that stock products other than food, such as clothing or household items, are...

 in Fernando Po

Bioko

Bioko is an island 32 km off the west coast of Africa, specifically Cameroon, in the Gulf of Guinea. It is the northernmost part of Equatorial Guinea with a population of 124,000 and an area of . It is volcanic with its highest peak the Pico Basile at .-Geography:Bioko has a total area of...

 (now Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea where the capital Malabo is situated.Annobón is the southernmost island of Equatorial Guinea and is situated just south of the equator. Bioko island is the northernmost point of Equatorial Guinea. Between the two islands and to the...

). Five years later, he bought out his employer, and he was joined by his brother Jonathan, and the two brothers expanded their business interests in West Africa, forming a partnership, John Holt and Company, in 1884, and a company, John Holt & Co. (Liverpool) Ltd, in 1897.

In 1910 he retired to his home at Broughton Grange, Lincolnshire, where he died in 1915.