{"id":2109226,"date":"2026-04-07T17:09:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T16:09:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/eastmidlands\/?p=2109226"},"modified":"2026-04-07T17:10:57","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T16:10:57","slug":"leicester-switchgear-firm-snapped-up-by-swedish-tech-group-in-growth-play","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/eastmidlands\/news\/2109226-leicester-switchgear-firm-snapped-up-by-swedish-tech-group-in-growth-play","title":{"rendered":"Leicester switchgear firm snapped up by Swedish tech group in growth play"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-start=\"225\" data-end=\"366\"><span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Michael Smith Switchgear<\/span><\/span> has been acquired by <span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Lagercrantz Group AB<\/span><\/span> as part of its expansion strategy in the UK.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"368\" data-end=\"503\">The Leicester-based business becomes the tenth UK acquisition for the group and the first in its Electrify division from the UK market.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"505\" data-end=\"742\">Managing director <span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Sean Smith<\/span><\/span> said: \u201cWe\u2019re delighted to be joining Lagercrantz and embarking on the next phase of our company\u2019s development with a long-term and stable owner who shares our values and ambitions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"744\" data-end=\"1022\">Founded in 1985, the company generates annual revenues of around \u00a38m and employs more than 50 people at its Braunstone Frith Industrial Estate site. It manufactures customised low-voltage switchgear for industrial, commercial and infrastructure projects, including data centres.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1024\" data-end=\"1158\">The existing leadership team, including Sean Smith and <span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Emily Smith<\/span><\/span>, will remain in place following the deal.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1160\" data-end=\"1440\">Emily Smith, operations and finance director, said: \u201cWe\u2019ll keep on developing the approach that has made MSSL such a success with the additional benefit of Lagercrantz\u2019s support. It\u2019s a great opportunity for our company, team, suppliers, and clients to continue growing together.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1442\" data-end=\"1669\">The business has previously received a <span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">King\u2019s Award for Enterprise for Sustainable Development<\/span><\/span> after reducing carbon emissions by more than 60% over seven years, and has also won Environmental Product of the Year at the Data Centre World Awards.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1671\" data-end=\"2035\"><span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Daniel Andersson<\/span><\/span>, head of division Electrify at Lagercrantz, said: \u201cThe acquisition of Michael Smith Switchgear is an excellent addition to the Electrify division. Michael Smith Switchgear operates in an attractive niche with strong fundamentals, and we look forward to supporting a very competent team in the next phase of their development.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2037\" data-end=\"2194\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">Lagercrantz Group operates more than 80 businesses globally, focused on niche B2B technology markets, with operations across Europe, the US, China and India.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Acquisition brings new backing as manufacturer targets expansion across key infrastructure markets<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":2109227,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57362],"coauthors":[95],"class_list":["post-2109226","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-acquisitions","tag-leicestershire","tag-top-story"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - 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