RH traces its origins back to 1849 when John T Rennie, a Scottish entrepreneur, won a ship in a bet and founded a shipping company that, over the following century, grew into a multi-national operation.

In 1970 the organisation sold off its British freight operations and the Midlands branches were subject to a management buy-out under the leadership of principal shareholder Neville Baxter - The RH Group was born with just 30 people working at four offices. The company has grown over the years to its current status, with 700 staff in 19 locations and a turnover of £119 million in 2006.