Burton engineering firm sold to private equity firm
A Burton on Trent engineering firm has been sold to Scottish company Edwin James Holdings.
The deal will expand EJH’s geographical footprint and takes its combined revenues to around £110m and the employee numbers to just under 1,000.
The value of the deal was undisclosed. Edwin James is backed by private equity house Aliter.
Established in 1922, WT Parker is a specialist provider of mechanical, electrical and process engineering services with an established blue-chip customer base. It has expertise in providing engineering support to the public and private sectors, particularly in the manufacturing, food and retail industries; as well as a growing facilities support services operation.
The family owners are no longer involved in the day-to-day running of the business and will exit completely. WT Parker’s CEO Sean Smyth will continue to lead the business with the support of his senior team and Aliter Partners Billy Allan and Greig Brown will join the board. The established WT Parker brand will remain in place.
Billy Allan, managing partner of Aliter, said: “The acquisitions of WT Parker and EJH are the first steps in our plan to create a national technical services business and we have identified a number of additional businesses to bring complementary capabilities to this platform as we move forward. This demonstrates how Aliter, provides investment advisory services and hands on operational support based on real life experience in order to help management teams develop their businesses and achieve transformational growth.”
Greig Brown, partner at Aliter, said: “WT Parker is an excellent business and a great fit for EJH. In addition to sharing a similar product range, it offers a commitment to customer service, engineering excellence, people development and health and safety. These qualities are critical for a successful business in the sector. We looking forward to working with Sean Smyth and his team to build on these strengths, broadening WT Parker’s range of services, its geographical reach and its high-quality customer base.”
Sean Smyth, CEO of WT Parker, said: “In Aliter we have found the right partner to help us build on what is already a great business so it can achieve its full potential. They have a great track record of building businesses like ours and their knowledge, experience and contacts will be invaluable as we grow. The time was right for the family shareholders to exit the business and Aliter has enabled us to secure an exciting future for the business and its employees.”
