Bigwood swoops for Nottingham auction house
Graham Penny Auctions has been sold Bigwood, part of Nottingham property services group SDL.
The deal will see the SDL Group boast the largest auction operation outside of London.
The deal will also see shareholder and co-founder James Cockayne retire, while John Fearnehough and Graham Penny will continue with the business as consultants.
The new business will be run by managing director Andrew Parker, who will report to Bigwood CEO Rory Daly.
Launched in 1989, the SDL Group operates from offices in Birmingham, Stratford-upon-Avon, Loughborough, Southampton, and London, as well as its Nottingham headquarters.
Earlier this year the Group acquired Bigwood, one of the UK’s oldest and fastest growing property consultancies, specialising in auctions, residential and commercial sales & lettings and property management services. In 2015, Bigwood sold more than £77m worth of property across six auctions.
SDL Group CEO Paul Gratton said: “When we acquired Bigwood we said we were intending to build on the existing strengths of the business – auctions and property management.
“This is the first of a number of acquisitions we have in the pipeline and under consideration, and gives us a real auction powerhouse across the UK.
“The SDL Group is a fast-paced, successful growing property services group which has more than quadrupled its turnover in the last five years and remains extremely ambitious.
“We have worked closely with Mark and the team at Browne Jacobson for some years now and they have played an important role in helping us to realise our growth ambitions. Regardless of the nature of the deal they are always on top of their game and once again helped to ensure the legal process went as smoothly as possible on this latest deal.”
Daly said: “This marks the next step in the evolution of SDL’s strategy to build the leading national auction brand, starting with last year’s acquisition of Bigwood and now this exciting move to bring the Graham Penny business into the group.
“This acquisition catapults the combined businesses to aggregate annual sales revenues of over £160m and places us in the top four of all such firms in the UK.
“The acquisition makes perfect sense for both parties, and gives us unparalleled coverage of the Midlands region. Our combined operation is also now by some distance the largest auction house outside of London and enables us to offer extensive coverage to all our regular clients, including local authorities, institutions and our investor clients.”
Browne Jacobson advised SDL led by corporate finance partner Mark Hughes, assisted by Paul McCannah, Beth Dowson and Sandra Wong with banking advice provided by head of banking & finance Paul Ray.
