Texan firm snaps up Sheffield wire manufacturer
ONE of Sheffield’s oldest steel wire manufacturers, Penistone Wire has been acquired by a firm based in Texas.
Penistone Wire was founded in the 1950s as the Ward Brothers. It operates from two sites in Penistone between Sheffield and Barnsley.
In January 2014, Penistone was bought out of administration, saving 60 jobs, by Oldham-based Corporate Acquisition Partners for an undisclosed sum.
Administrators from BDO were called in after the company suffered cashflow problems when a major supplier changed its credit insurance terms.
At the time, Tim Hawkins, commercial director at Centric Commercial Finance, which provided a £2.9m asset-based lending facility for the acquisition said: “From time to time, we see businesses with a proud past and a promising future, facing challenges which at the time must seem insurmountable.”
Solicitors from the corporate and commercial team at Taylor&Emmet negotiated the acquisition of the recycling wires division of Penistone Wire on behalf of clients, the Accent Wire Group.
Taylor&Emmet’s advisers worked with their Accent’s UK subsidiary in Bradford to complete the transaction. Accent is now the country’s largest supplier of specialist machinery and wires to the waste and recycling industries.
Rob Moore, head of business legal services at Taylor&Emmet, said: “Bringing this acquisition to its successful conclusion has been a real collaborative effort by the team, requiring expertise in employment and commercial property law, as well as deal making.
“Our knowledge of the South Yorkshire business community was also beneficial for Accent and we are pleased to have played such a crucial role in the firm’s rise to UK market leader.”
The seller was represented in the acquisition by Kuits Solicitors in Manchester. Funding was provided to Accent by Shawbrook Bank.
Penistone was owned by Gillian and Christopher Ward. According to the most recent filed accounts available, for the year to December 2012 it made a pretax profit of £30,000 on sales of nearly £15m.
