The History of EXS & LTC Healthcare
Before deciding whether to buy EXS condoms and lubricants learn how EXS and our parent company LTC Healthcare started up and grew the brand to what it has become today.
Our History
Leeds Trading Company Ltd was established in 1990 and became a Limited Company in 1993 at which point it started to trade as LTC Healthcare.
The business was started by Steve Taylor one of the company’s family owners when studying material science at Leeds University. He decided to contact condom manufacturing companies about a fluorescent material which would make condoms glow in the dark! The idea was sold to a company, at which point Steve realised young people did not have easy access to condoms so he set up a condom mail-order company in VIZ magazine.
In 1993, Andy Taylor got involved with the mail order side of things and soon realised there was a demand for condoms within the NHS. Back in 1992/93 condoms were extremely expensive and were selling at around £16-£17 a gross (compared to a sales price of £6-£10 today).
In the early ’90s, there was a big increase in the demand for condoms as people became more aware of the fatal consequences of HIV and Aids. Andy, who is now the MD of LTC Healthcare, decided to shake up the market and contacted a company in Germany to see if they would help him produce two NEW branded called BOYS OWN AND EXS.
BOYS OWN was a thicker latex condom and became the UK’s first condom to be marketed towards gay men.
The BOYS OWN and EXS condom brands grew and LTC Healthcare were quickly established in the market as a company who offered extremely competitive pricing and a very professional and efficient customer service.
LTC Healthcare went on to become one of the most innovative condom companies within the UK and we’re continually looking at how to present condoms and condom packaging differently in order to encourage greater condom awareness and usage.
As well as being the first company to openly describe their BOYS OWN condoms as being suitable for gay men, LTC introduced the first CE marked glow in the dark condoms, the first condoms in circular foils and were the first company to add carrageenan and remove parabens from their lubricant products.
Today, LTC Healthcare is the largest independent supplier of condoms and lubes to the NHS and have contracts with NHS England, Northern Ireland, Wales and NHS Scotland.
Whist the condom business is one of the most challenging industries, with most companies in the UK being Public Limited Malaysian or Chinese owned, LTC Healthcare remains an independent British owned family business and we pride ourselves in producing high quality condoms and keeping the larger players on their toes.
LTC Healthcare only works with factories that have been audited by the British Standards Institute (BSI). All EXS and BOYS OWN condoms are independently batch tested by BSI as well as being factory (CE) and electronically tested to ensure every condom is produced to the highest possible standard.
LTC has worked with some of their customers for over 25 years, many of whom have become friends of the company. We love the business we are in and look forward to further developing our relationships with our customers and growing the brand on a global level.