Derbyshire logistics firm in £20m swoop for Welsh rival
NFT Distribution Group, Somercotes logistics firm has bought a Welsh rival in a deal worth £20m.
NFT has acquired NR Evans (Holdings) in a deal which includes integrated debt funding of up to £13m provided by Investec Growth & Acquisition Finance, and represents the third acquisition in the UK Logistics market during the last 12 months by Hong Kong-based private equity investor EmergeVest.
NFT has a group turnover of more than £200m and a combined workforce of over 3,000.
David Frankish, CEO of NFT, said: “We are extremely proud to welcome NR Evans into the NFT Group and believe that the combination will not only create a considerable increase in scale, reach, and infrastructure, but also – combined with the capability of our people, recently augmented by the recruitment of new Board Members with specialist skills – results in the emergence of NFT as a business with an increased international focus on grocery supply chains.”
Heath Zarin, managing director of EmergeVest, added: “We believe that the acquisition of the NR Evans Group, combined with the recent commencement of operations at NFT’s game changing port centric London warehousing facility and the opening of NFT’s international office in Shanghai, means that the Group is well positioned to expand its service offering within the UK and to enter new overseas markets.
“We are very excited about NFT’s domestic and international growth prospects and ability to provide an ever-expanding suite of leading edge services. This acquisition will not be our last and demonstrates EmergeVest’s confidence in the UK market as an investment proposition post Brexit.” he said.
Neil Evans, founder of NR Evans said: “Having developed the NR Evans brand over a number of years I am extremely proud of what we have created, and I believe strongly in the potential of the combined NFT Group, and in our people who deliver service excellence day in day out to our customers. In NFT we have found a like-minded business that places the customer at the heart of what we do.”
The acquisition brings the number of NFT distribution centres to 17, following the addition of the 9 facilities operated by the NR Evans business.
