Acquisition of transport business creates £48m turnover company

Walkers Transport has acquired Staffordshire firm MTH Express Services in a deal which creates a £48m turnover business.

Walkers, which has bases in Rochdale and Leeds, is a transport and third-party logistics specialist which underwent a £20m management buyout in 2017 by chief executive Richard Simpson, backed by Total Capital Partners.

MTH is member of Palletways, the UK’s pallet network, and trades under both its own name and as Palletways 51.

It operates from Fradley, near Lichfield in Staffordshire and covers Staffordshire, Shropshire and Derbyshire.

In the year to December 31, 2018, MTH had sales of approximately £9m.

Following the acquisition, the enlarged Walkers Transport group has a combined turnover of £48m.

Since the buyout Walkers has grown strongly and moves more than 1.2 million pallets each year.

Further growth is being targeted both organically and through complementary acquisitions in selected target territories.

Richard Simpson said: “I am delighted to welcome all the employees and customers of MTH to the Walkers Transport family.

“We are looking forward to working with Dez Shirley and the MTH management team to further grow the business and service offering as part of the enlarged Walkers Transport Group.

“We expect this acquisition to benefit both MTH’s staff and existing and future customers, as a result of being part of a larger group with greater reach across the Midlands, North of England and nationally.”

He added: “MTH has a great reputation in our industry and this transaction fits perfectly with our ambition to grow further, both organically and via targeted M&A.”

Mark Buttler, partner at Total Capital Partners, said: “We are very pleased to have supported Walkers Transport in the acquisition of MTH and we look forward to helping the Walkers management team continue to grow their business over the next few years.”