Spanish biotech group buys specialist business

A Herefordshire manufacturer of specialist sprayers and weed control equipment has been bought by a Spanish-headquarted biotech group.

Micron Group has become part of Goizper, making the UK the 13th country the business operates in.

Bromyard-based Micron was founded in 1954 and now employs 46 people, with annual revenues of £3.6m. The value of the deal has not been disclosed.

Micron was advised by the Midlands office of Crowe UK and Harrison Clark Rickerbys.

Crowe’s corporate finance partner Andy Kay said: “Micron was originally founded in 1954 by Edward Bals because of his concern then about the indiscriminate way in which pesticides were being applied, following first-hand experience in tropical agriculture.

“Since that time this family business has continued to grow under the stewardship of the Bals family, acquiring Micron Air in 2000 and Enviromist Industries in 2004. The sale to Goizper was the next natural step in the Group’s evolution.”

A spokesman for Goizper Group added: “Both Goizper and Micron will retain their identities, with no significant change in organisation or commercial policies.”