Council supply firm sold in deal advised out of Birmingham
A FORMER local authority supply firm in Shropshire has been sold in an undisclosed deal advised out of Birmingham.
Cobbetts and Ernst & Young were responsible for advising the four local authorities which had a stake in West Mercia Supplies.
The Shrewsbury-based business has been acquired by The Consortium for Purchasing and Distribution Ltd. The utilities element of the business has been retained, and remains in local authority ownership and will operate under the new name of West Mercia Energy.
West Mercia Supplies, which provides office and educational products for schools, colleges, government offices and other not for profit organisations, was previously owned by Shropshire County Council, Worcestershire County Council, Telford Borough Council and Wrekin and Herefordshire District Council.
Nick Dawson, director in the corporate team at Cobbetts, said: “West Mercia Supplies is a successful business, which employs in excess of 100 people. It will be a profitable addition to the consortium’s portfolio, and complements the organisation’s existing services and customer base.”
Mark Stanway, left, of Ernst & Young, added: “This transaction demonstrates the value the Midlands professional community can bring in supporting public sector organisations to deliver best value in evaluating and executing the sale or transfer of non-core operations to the private sector. I’m certain that WMS has a positive future with the support of its new owners.”
The Cobbetts team, in addition to Mr Dawson, comprised Graham Muth and Mark Canning. For Ernst & Young, the team consisted of Mr Stanway plus Dan Cichocki and Andrew Moody. The consortium was advised by the Bristol offices of TLT and Grant Thornton.
West Mercia Supplies was formed in 1987 out of Shropshire Supplies Division, following a government review that judged Shropshire to be one of the top 10 performing purchasing operations in the country.
