Birmingham team advise European group on UK acquisition
Birmingham-based Orbis Partners have advised Customs Support Group, Europe’s leading independent provider of customs services, on the acquisition of UK Customs Solutions to boost its UK presence.
CSG is backed by Castik Capital, a European private equity investor that is supporting the long term consolidation strategy.
Orbis’ role was to identify and execute a UK acquisition for CSG to meet their ambitious growth plans. The Orbis team led by partner Gary Ecob and director Peter Waplington were supported by Liam Hadfield and acted as lead advisors on the deal.
Established in 2014, UKCS is an AEO authorised customs broker with around 150 people based out of Nottingham, Felixstowe, Glasgow and Dover.
The two founders of UKCS, Bryn Ward and Ross Gosling, will remain with the business post acquisition having built a leading customs broker serving more than 1,000 customers ranging from large international companies to small and medium sized UK companies.
Like Customs Support Group, UKCS supports clients in their customs formalities and helps them through the complexities of Brexit.
Headquartered in the Netherlands, CSG is Europe’s leading provider of customs services employing more than 1,000 customs professionals serving over 10,000 customers annually.
Ecob said: “I am delighted to have completed this transaction with CSG within a very quick timeframe from start to finish. This deal demonstrates once again how we can work effectively with our international partners at Clairfield to create cross border strategic opportunities. UKCS significantly enhances CSG’s credential and presence within the rapidly changing UK customs market. I hope this is the first of many acquisitions to come as we continue to support CSG grow their business across Europe.”
“As the UK’s leading customs broker we are very enthusiastic to join the Customs Support Group, in becoming the EU’s number one customs partner. Our high professional standards and client driven approach is fully aligned with Customs Support’s approach” says Bryn Ward, UKCS managing director.
“We are more than happy to welcome Bryn and Ross and their team to the Customs Support Group, as the two are very strong entrepreneurs and customs experts who have built a fantastic business. Together with Des Hiscock, the current Customs Support UK managing director, they will form a strong management team to further grow our UK operations,” added Frank Weermeijer, CEO of CSG.
