LH Group sold to US firm for £30m

BURTON on Trent-based rail engineering firm LH Group has been sold to US company Wabtec Corporation for £30m.

LH has 350 employees and annual sales of more than £40m. With more than 90% of its sales in the global rail market the business overhauls diesel engines, transmissions, powerpacks and bogies and the company’s customers include a variety of rolling stock operators and original equipment manufacturers.

Wabtec Corporation is a global provider of technology-based products and services primarily for the rail and transit industry and the addition of LH means Wabtec will become a comprehensive, full-service provider to the UK rail industry.

Birmingham-based Catalyst Corporate Finance advised the shareholders of LH Group on the sale.

The deal was led by partner Richard Sanders who said: “We are delighted to have worked with the shareholders of LH who, having spent 50 years building one of the UK’s leading rail engineering businesses, wanted to secure the future of the business with a partner that would continue to invest in the future.

“Wabtec demonstrated that it saw LH as a very important part of its European strategy and will ensure the business is in safe hands going forwards.”