Bowens International was founded as Bowens Camera Service Company, a London based camera repair company, in 1923 which by the 1950s had grown to be one of the largest in Europe. In 1963, the name Bowens International LTD. was registered. In June 2016 a German investment firm AURELIUS, bought Bowens and the following year in July 2017, AURELIUS closed down the company, discontinuing all further operations.