Founded in 1950 by the late Ivan Mason, a former Parker mechanic, to provide a repair service that the then pen manufacturers did not want to provide. Spare parts were supplied in bulk by Conway Stewart, Swan, Waterman, Stephens, Parker etc. and Penfriend became the major pen repair specialists in the country.

In 1985 with Ivan Mason nearing the age of 70 and wanting to retire, Peter Woolf and Roy Zeff took over the company and within a short time opened a retail unit at the former Parker headquarters in Bush House, Strand. With the success of Bush House a further retail unit was opened in the prestigious Burlington Arcade in 1991.

In 2007, Luc Leclercq and Amaya Cerdeirina took over Penfriend. With over 50 years experience of the pen business, Penfriend is going from strength to strength.