A British loudspeaker and headphone maker founded in Worthing, with its research and engineering base in West Sussex and a London office.
Bowers & Wilkins, usually called B&W, makes loudspeakers, headphones and wireless speakers. Its flagship Nautilus speaker launched in 1993, the 800 series is used in recording studios, and the Zeppelin wireless speaker arrived in 2007. Its sound is used by Abbey Road Studios, which became B&W's official speaker and headphone partner in 2017. Built In London lists car-audio work with BMW, McLaren Automotive, Maserati and Volvo Cars, as well as sound for Philips OLED+ televisions. The company calls its aim 'True Sound': bringing listeners closer to the original recording.
John Bowers and Roy Wilkins met in the Royal Corps of Signals and, after the Second World War, ran a radio and electronics shop in Worthing, West Sussex. B&W Loudspeakers was set up in 1966, and its first commercial speaker, the P1, appeared in 1967. A history site records that Bowers hand-built speakers for local clients in 1965 and worked with Peter Hayward on the first company. Kevlar speaker cones appeared around 1974, industrial designer Kenneth Grange joined in 1974, and John Bowers died in 1987. The Nautilus was finished after his death by Laurence Dickie.
B&W's headquarters is in Worthing. The Steyning Research Establishment, formed in 1981 or 1982 depending on the source, was the home of its innovations, including the diamond tweeter. In 2018 the company announced it would move that research centre to a 2,750 square metre site in Southwater, West Sussex, with anechoic chambers (rooms that stop echoes for testing), listening rooms, dedicated car-audio and headphone labs and an experience centre. A London office in Clerkenwell is also listed. Built In London gives about 346 employees. B&W has changed owners several times, and in 2025 it was reported that its owner agreed to sell its consumer audio division to Harman.
The company's profile stresses audio excellence, design excellence and technological innovation, and says its research laboratory hired highly capable, curious engineers. Those are the company's own claims. It said in 2018 that it had grown its research staff by more than 40 per cent in two years and planned to hire more engineers after the move. Then chief executive Gideon Yu said the engineers were 'dedicated to honouring and continuing' John Bowers's legacy. B&W's Society of Sound, launched in 2007, built an online music community with guests such as Peter Gabriel.
People at B&W include acoustic and electronics engineers, materials specialists, software developers, industrial designers, testing technicians, and people working with studio and car-maker partners. Its history shows how a shop in a seaside town became a global brand. Check the B&W site for current roles and ask which jobs are based in Worthing, Southwater or London.
Website: www.bowerswilkins.com
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