100 jobs saved as stricken manufacturer snapped up

Slack & Parr, the stricken Kegworth manufacturer of pumps, has been sold out of administration, saving 100 jobs.

Avingtrans subsidiary Hayward Tyler Fluid Handling has swooped for certain assets of Slack & Parr, together with Slack and Parr’s overseas subsidiaries in the USA and Asia.

Family-owned Slack & Parr fell into administration on 3 July after £12m annual sales resulted in the company trading at a loss.

Austen Adams, divisional managing director at Avingtrans, said: “We are pleased to have completed this acquisition, which brings another globally-respected, British heritage brand under the direction of the Avingtrans team.

“The sorts of challenges this business has faced are familiar to us and we are experienced resolving them, having successfully turned around other businesses under similar circumstances.

“Slack and Parr’s global footprint, combined with its well-invested operational capability, powerful brand, highly-skilled workforce and large installed base provide a great base for reestablishing the business on a firmer footing going forward.”

Slack & Parr operates from a 64,000 sq ft manufacturing facility in Kegworth, north-west Leicestershire. The company also has facilities in Charlotte, North Carolina and Shanghai, China.

Edward Barrington, managing director of Slack and Parr, added: ‘We are delighted to be part of Avingtrans and eagerly anticipate the opportunities this partnership will unlock for the business. Together, we are confident we can build on our heritage of precision engineering and continue to provide our clients with the quality and reliability they have come to expect from us.”

Keith Spedding of law firm Shakespeare Martineau and Miles Standard of Park Hill Corporate Finance acted for Avingtrans in the deal.