Young's stores and works in Godfrey's Town had been on the west bank of the lower reaches of the River Itchen. During his first two years, Elliott also based his operations there. But he was determined to expand and, in the late summer of 1842, the opportunity arose to purchase the business of the London Cement Works. The proprietor was one William Hale and, as implied by his 1841 advertisement, the cement was not produced in London but rather was manufactured on the 'London principle'.