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22
DEALMAKERS
IN ASSOCIATION WITH:
By Ged Henderson
WORKING BEYOND BORDERS
Overseas investors are targeting Lancashire businesses with a flurry of cross-border deals in recent weeks that has seen acquisitions by US, Australian and European companies.
Dealmakers say the trend mirrors what has been happening across the wider North West, with a surge in the number of overseas firms looking to set up operations in the region.
A study of mergers and acquisitions activity in 2022 carried out by Experian Market IQ highlighted the prominence of cross-border dealmaking in the UK and the growing interest of US bidders in North West targets.
The figures are impressive. According to Experian’s research the value of inward investment into the UK increased by around 41 per cent year on year in 2022, reaching nearly £100bn from 727 inbound transactions.
Blackburn-based Northern Industrial is one of the Lancashire businesses that now has new overseas owners following a recent cross-border deal.
Northern Industrial is one of the UK’s biggest suppliers of industrial spare parts and proactive maintenance solutions and has been on a successful growth journey of its own. In recent years it has been building its global customer base by opening operations in Germany and Mexico.
It announced in April that it has been acquired for an undisclosed sum by Radwell International, a leading global supplier of surplus and remanufactured industrial control systems. Headquartered in Willingboro, New Jersey, the new owner employs a team of more than 2,000 in 15 sites across the globe.
David Lenehan’s father John founded Northern Industrial in 1978. David, who took over as managing director, now becomes general manager of Europe and says: “After over
40 years of growth, Northern Industrial is delighted to become part of Radwell. It is a global force to be reckoned with.
“Its services, ethics and culture are in-line with everything we have built here and our people can look forward to a bright future as part of the Radwell family.
“This is a hugely positive move not only for all our team in Blackburn but also for our customers across the world. With this change, we aim to establish a closer connection between all our products and services and provide a streamlined source for our customers.”
Radwell’s chief executive Brian Radwell is also excited for the future and talks of the opportunities he believes it presents its customer base.
He adds: “Our overarching goal is to provide the best possible service and quality, and we believe that this acquisition will help us achieve that.”
Colne-headquartered Tharstern Group also has new US owners. It has been acquired by Pittsbsurgh-headquartered eProductivity Software (ePS).
The deal, which was announced at the end of March, provided an exit for equity investor Gresham House Ventures. No value has been put on the acquisition. Tharstern Group provides management information software for the printing, packaging and label industries, helping businesses to digitise processes and accelerate workflows.
From its east Lancashire base, the firm serves customers across the UK, Ireland, North America, Australia and South Africa. Its new American owner provides business and production software technology for the print and packaging industries. It says the
deal furthers its growth strategy, adds new technologies and will drive further geographical diversification.
The Gresham House Ventures team invested in Tharstern in July 2014 in a move that has supported Tharstern in accelerating the development of a new cloud-based SaaS product. Gresham also supported a restructuring of the business’ international software development resources, as well as the appointment of a new chair in April last year.
Keith McMurtrie, chief executive of Tharstern, says: “We are very excited to join the ePS family and we are confident in the additional value ePS can bring to our customers.
“ePS has the technology, solutions, and global reach to enable continued growth and success across the Tharstern customer base for years to come.”
Nelson-based Graham Engineering (GEL), one of the county’s best-performing SMEs according to Lancashire Business View’s most recent Hot 100 rankings, has been acquired by K-TIG of Australia.
GEL has strong foundations in nuclear product development, with long term production agreements for major clients in the sector.
It has also applied its capability to grow into other highly regulated markets requiring high integrity stainless steel or other exotic metal fabrications.
GEL now provides advanced manufacturing solutions to clients across a broad-spectrum of industries including, nuclear, aerospace, security and medical industries.
The company ranked 84th in Lancashire Business View’s Hot 100 in 2022, registering £1.4m pre-tax profit on revenues of £16m, with a workforce just shy of 200.
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