During the First World War, the War Office chose a 600-acre site of farmland close to the then small market town of Slough for the location of a centralised military vehicle repair depot. By the end of the war in 1918, the 'Slough Motor Transport Depot' was still far from complete, but work on the site continued.

In the spring of 1920, Sir Percival Perry and Noel Mobbs, successful businessmen with motor trade expertise, and a group of investors bought the site from the Government. They paid a considerable sum of £7m for the land, buildings, vehicles and plant. In May 1920 they formed the Slough Trading Company Ltd.

A trade paper of the time, 'Motor News', commented "It will be something of a miracle if they succeed in converting Slough into a money earning concern". The 'Slough Observer' struck a more positive note. Its article on the new company and its vision for the future, published on 15th May, bore the headline "The New Slough".

This optimism was soon justified. In 1926 the name of the company was changed to Slough Estates Ltd, reflecting its development. 'The Dump' was to become the largest business park in Europe under single company ownership.