It all began in 1790 when the 25-year-old son of a prosperous Scottish cabinetmaker asked his father for a loan of 300 pounds to establish himself as a wine merchant in London.
This ambitious young man was George Sandeman, the founder of Sandeman, who ended up establishing one of the world's leading port and sherry companies.
From an early stage, Sandeman specialized in these two great Iberian fortified wines and, following the usual practice of the time, began trading not from his own offices, but from Tom's Coffe House in Birchin Lane, London. Business was agreed on the basis of a "gentleman's word" and George quickly gained an impeccable reputation, characteristic of the Sandeman House to this day.